Guido Vianello (7-0-1) had the toughest fight of his career last Saturday night when he battled Kingsley Ibeh (5-1-1) to a majority draw that was streamed on ESPN+ on the Jose “Chon” Zepeda-Ivan Baranchyk undercard. The fight took place inside of “The Bubble” at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino where Top Rank has staged all of their fights during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Kingsley’s awkward style gave the 2016 Italian Olympian problems from the opening bell. The problems were compounded by a nasty cut that Vianello suffered in the second round from a perfectly placed jab that would affect him throughout the rest of the fight.
“Guido had a tough night’s work against Kinglsey Ibeh. Ibeh was a strong, awkward, determined opponent who threw punches from many different angles and Guido made hard work adjusting to that,” Vianello’s trainer Kevin Barry told BoxingScene.com.
Barry stated that their game plan focused on working off of the double jab and controlling the distance from the outside which Vianello had trouble implementing.
“It wasn’t Guido’s best work and he appeared a little flat on the night but I believe he will learn a lot and mature from this experience,” said Barry.
“The cut required 15 stitches and uncharacteristically came for a jab. It was a godsend having the world’s leading cutman Stitch Duran in our corner as he managed a very bad gash with total professionalism and craftsmanship.”
The Las Vegas area based trainer was pleased with the way Vianello finished off the 6 round fight. He said the plan now is to let the cut heal and get back to work early next year.
“Guido had trouble with his distance after the cut but after a difficult start, he showed his superior conditioning and was able to finish strong. A draw was an appropriate result as 2 judges had scored it. Guido will travel back home to Rome and rejoin us here in Las Vegas in early January,” said Barry.
They were originally scheduled to fight on July 21st but the fight was postpone when Ibeh tested positive for COVID-19,
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