Sandor Martin warmed up for a crack at Devin Haney’s WBO super lightweight title with an easy victory.
The Opi Fight Night card, promoted and organized by Italian Opi Since 82 in association with Top Rank, was full of adrenaline and great fights.
It exceeded the expectations of this Saturday as Martin, the mandatory challenger of newly crowned junior welterweight champion Devin Haney, defeated his foe via KO in the fourth round.
The Belgian Mohamed El Marcouchi lost after Martin dropped him in the second round.
Devin Haney mandatory
Martin was too much for experienced El Marcouchi. The Spaniard showed his repertoire with timing, precision punching, footwork mobility, and ring IQ.
He dropped his opponent in the second round. Martin then closed the fight with a flurry of punches that landed hard on El Marcouchi.
His opponent couldn’t get up, and the referee ruled a KO victory for Martin. This victory means a lot for Martin, who sits at the top of the WBC 140lbs ranking.
He is Devin Haney’s mandatory challenger and should be next for the American.
Grandelli vs Voda
In the main event, local fighter Francesco Grandelli faced Stefan Voda. He challenged for the vacant Ebu Silver Featherweight Title. He ended up with a stunning TKO in the second round.
Local hero Grandelli had a fabulous night. He defeated undefeated Voda in the second round for TKO.
He landed a check left hook several times on the Belgian. Grandelli’s performance inflamed the packed arena as he won the first EBU Silver title of his career.
Grandelli regained confidence after the loss against Mauro Forte in May 2023.
DAZN
The fight card was broadcast on several networks. DAZN covered Italy and Spain.
ESPN+ had it live in the USA and Canada, ESPN Latino in South America, and TVP1 streamed the fight in Poland. The fight card was also available in Bulgaria and Ex-Yugoslavia territories.
The first fight to feature on international coverage was the rematch between two young Italian lightweight prospects, Biagio Grimaldi and Darwin El Badaouy, who fought in March 2023, with El Badaouy winning.
This eight-rounder fight was a slugfest. Grimaldi tried to close the distance.
El Badaouy landed from the outside and moved away from his opponent. The fight was ruled a draw: 77-75 Grimaldi, 77-75 El Badaouy, and 76-76 were the judges’ scorecards.
The second fight had former IBF International Champion Maxim Prodan fighting against Miguel Cesario Antin for eight rounds in the welterweight division.
It was a tough fight for OPI Since 82 Ukrainian Prodan, who chased his opponent throughout the fight, proved to be a slick fighter willing to close the distance and fight toe-to-toe against Maxim Prodan.
Ultimately, a draw was carded via a unanimous decision. The judges’ scorecards were 79-75 Prodan and 77-75 twice.
