Francesco Grandelli fights Kane Baker in Italy
On April 22, in Verbania, Piemonte region in Italy, former Italian super middleweight champion Ivan Zucco (15-0, 13KOs) will challenge Serbian Marko Nikolic (28-1, 12KOs) for the vacant WBC International title on a show promoted by Opi Since 82 and Matchroom, streamed live on DAZN.
Also in action, featherweight Francesco Grandelli (15-1-2 , 3KOs) will face Briton Kane Baker (17-8-1, 1KO) over 10-rounds. Last November in Rome, Grandelli had a spectacular fight with European Union featherweight champion Mauro Forte which ended in a draw, and Birmingham's Baker also had a draw in his last bout with Spaniard Diego Valtierra.
Ahead of his 19th contest, 27-year-old Grandelli discussed his next opponent, who is an English title contender unbeaten in his last four fights:
Fracesco, have you studied Kane Baker’s fights?
“Yes, I saw a couple of fights on You Tube. My father Antonello saw them too. He trains me at Boxe Club Nichelino, the gym that he runs with me and my brother Andrea. Both of them have amateur experience. My brother is my usual sparring partner. Kane Baker is a good boxer and I am training at the best of my possibilities to defeat him. Twice a week I go to Milan to train at Opi Gym where I work with coach Franco Cherchi and where I had as sparring partners professional fighters like Biagio Grimaldi and Giuseppe Osnato. For two week-ends I went to the Sestriere mountains to spar with pro fighter Alessio Lorusso.”
Last November you had a great fight against Mauro Forte. Did the draw satisfy you?
“In the ring, I thought that Mauro’s punches never hurt me and I believed that I threw the most effective punches. When I saw the fight, I was even more convinced that I won by a couple of points. That said, I can accept a draw.”
Would you accept a rematch?
“Of course! Since I became a professional boxer I never refused a fight. Until today, nobody offered me a rematch with Mauro.”
What’s your immediate goal?
“Fighting for the European Union featherweight belt which Mauro left vacant. I will fight everybody, everywhere. Becoming European Union champion is important because opens the door to fight for the European title. I saw European champion Jordan Gill in the ring and he is an excellent fighter with a lot of courage. I saw him go down, get up and knock out his opponent. He is a tough guy.”
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