Simone Maludrottu
Encyclopedia
Simone Maludrottu is a professional boxer
from Olbia
, Sardinia
, Italy
. Maludrottu fights in the Bantamweight
division and in the current European (EBU
) title holder.
, Italy, with a points win over six rounds against Giovanni Delisi.
, Italy. Maludrottu won this fight after Salvini retired in the seventh round due to an injury.
(EBU) Bantamweight Title which the Italian won on points over ten rounds.
of the WBC
world bantamweight class champion in Osaka prefectural gymnasium of Osaka-shi, Osaka of Japan. Maludrottu lost a 12 round unanimous decision
to the Japanese champion.
challenged Maludrottu at the Andersonstown
Leisure Centre in Belfast
, Northern Ireland
. Kelly was attempting to become the first Irishman to capture the European (EBU) Bantamweight Title and the first Irish fighter to win the European title at two different weights.
Maludrottu was the naturally bigger man and carried more power having fought and Bantamweight for the majority of his career however Kelly possessed the faster hands and higher technical ability. Kelly's footwork and precise darting jabs frustrated Maludrottu as Kelly stayed out of his range leaving him unable to make his superior power pay. Despite this Maludrottu won an extremely controversial decision by a unanimous points decision. Punch stats showed the that Kelly landed 155 punches while the Maludrottu landed only 87 and the vast majority of onlookers believed that Kelly had won a fairly comfortable decision, but the Sardinian was given the verdict by all three judges. Kelly's promoter Tommy Gilmour stated that "that was shameful. It was the biggest robbery I've seen in 35 years of boxing".
In the following rematch in Maludrottu's hometown of Olbia, on 25 November 2006, Maludrottu stopped Kelly inside three rounds after Kelly's trainer Mickey Hawkins threw in the towel. Kelly announced his retirement immediately after the fight stating "the time has come for me to walk away. The defeat on Saturday night just confirmed that to me. Every sportsman comes to a point when they know they are at that stage when it is time to go. I've had a great career with highs and lows and I've achieved an awful lot". This was to be Kelly's last fight although he was still the number one ranked Irish bantamweight boxer at the time.
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
from Olbia
Olbia
Olbia is a town and comune of 56,231 inhabitants in northeastern Sardinia , in the Gallura sub-region. Called Olbia in the Roman age, Civita in the Middle Ages and Terranova Pausania before the 1940s, Olbia was again the official name of the town after the period of Fascism.-Geography:It is the...
, Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Maludrottu fights in the Bantamweight
Bantamweight
Bantamweight is usually a class in boxing for boxers who weigh above 115 pounds and up to 118 pounds . However, in Mixed Martial Arts it is 134-136 pounds . Wrestling also has similar weight classes including bantamweight...
division and in the current European (EBU
European Boxing Union
The European Boxing Union is an organization that oversees competition in that sport over the continent of Europe.-History:The EBU started life as the International Boxing Union in Paris in 1910...
) title holder.
Debut
Maludrottu made his professional debut in July 2000, gaining a victory in ChivassoChivasso
Chivasso is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 20 km northeast of Turin. Chivasso has a population of about 25,000...
, Italy, with a points win over six rounds against Giovanni Delisi.
Initial title fights
Maludrottu fought thirteen fights, winning twelve, five by knockout, before he had a chance to fight for his first title belt September 2003 when he challenged Emiliano Salvini for the `Vacant Italian Bantamweight Title in Olbia, SassariSassari
Sassari is an Italian city. It is the second-largest city of Sardinia in terms of population with about 130,000 inhabitants, or about 300,000 including the greater metropolitan area...
, Italy. Maludrottu won this fight after Salvini retired in the seventh round due to an injury.
European title
In September 2004, after a further three victories Maludrottu challegned Frenchman Frederic Patrac for the EuropeanEuropean Boxing Union
The European Boxing Union is an organization that oversees competition in that sport over the continent of Europe.-History:The EBU started life as the International Boxing Union in Paris in 1910...
(EBU) Bantamweight Title which the Italian won on points over ten rounds.
World title challenge
Simone Maludrottu made an expedition to Japan and, on January 10, 2008, challenged Hozumi HasegawaHozumi Hasegawa
is a professional boxer and a former WBC world bantamweight champion and former WBC world Featherweight champion. He received consecutive MVP awards from the Japanese Boxing Commission in 2005 and 2006 for his title defenses, and is the only Japanese boxer to have defended a world bantamweight...
of the WBC
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
world bantamweight class champion in Osaka prefectural gymnasium of Osaka-shi, Osaka of Japan. Maludrottu lost a 12 round unanimous decision
Unanimous decision
A unanimous decision is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking in which all three judges agree on which fighter won the match....
to the Japanese champion.
Damaen Kelly controversy
In April 2006, Damaen KellyDamaen Kelly
Damaen Kelly is a former professional boxer from Belfast, Northern Ireland, who represented the Republic of Ireland at international level. Kelly fought his final professional fights in the Bantamweight division but was more noted for boxing in the Flyweight division...
challenged Maludrottu at the Andersonstown
Andersonstown
Andersonstown is a suburb of Belfast, Northern Ireland.It is overshadowed by the Black Mountain and Divis Mountain and contains a mixture of public and private housing. It is largely populated by the Irish nationalist and Roman Catholic community...
Leisure Centre in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. Kelly was attempting to become the first Irishman to capture the European (EBU) Bantamweight Title and the first Irish fighter to win the European title at two different weights.
Maludrottu was the naturally bigger man and carried more power having fought and Bantamweight for the majority of his career however Kelly possessed the faster hands and higher technical ability. Kelly's footwork and precise darting jabs frustrated Maludrottu as Kelly stayed out of his range leaving him unable to make his superior power pay. Despite this Maludrottu won an extremely controversial decision by a unanimous points decision. Punch stats showed the that Kelly landed 155 punches while the Maludrottu landed only 87 and the vast majority of onlookers believed that Kelly had won a fairly comfortable decision, but the Sardinian was given the verdict by all three judges. Kelly's promoter Tommy Gilmour stated that "that was shameful. It was the biggest robbery I've seen in 35 years of boxing".
In the following rematch in Maludrottu's hometown of Olbia, on 25 November 2006, Maludrottu stopped Kelly inside three rounds after Kelly's trainer Mickey Hawkins threw in the towel. Kelly announced his retirement immediately after the fight stating "the time has come for me to walk away. The defeat on Saturday night just confirmed that to me. Every sportsman comes to a point when they know they are at that stage when it is time to go. I've had a great career with highs and lows and I've achieved an awful lot". This was to be Kelly's last fight although he was still the number one ranked Irish bantamweight boxer at the time.