Lo Sport (Box)

It was all set, Mark Tyron and I were given tickets to the big fight at the Nelson Mandela Forum in Florence. What a great night it would be! Massimiliano, the owner of one of our favorite local restaurants (La Vecchio Bettola) gave us the tickets and told us that he would see us there. The main event was a bought between Rodrigo Bracco and the home town hero Angelo Ardito (Who fought for Italy in the most recent Olympics in Athens Greece. Before we could get the much anticipated main event we had to make our way through the under card which consisted of five bouts that could put a guy doing fresh lines of cocaine to sleep! Actually the fifth fight on the under card was quite enjoyable (Two Super Middle Weights who threw serious leather) and ended in a second round knock out.

On to the main event! The two fighters stood toe to toe for the first 90 seconds or so exchanging blows in the center of the ring. No one was clearly ahead at this early stage in the fight but it was obvious that Ardito was a great fighter as his punches were extremely crisp and his hands were amazingly quick. I have never been to a fight before, so perhaps my expectations were a bit low, but like other sports that differ in person from television, boxing takes on a totally different dynamic live where you can see what great athletes these guys really are.

At around the 90 second mark, Bracco started to make a circular motion with his right arm, similar to what I do in the palestra on a cold morning to warm up my shoulders prior to working out. The next thing you know, the fight is stopped and the trainer comes out to inspect his patient. Thirty or so seconds go by and the fight is stopped! Here we are two minutes into the fight and the boos are pouring out from the stands. Talk about a buzz kill!

All was not lost however as Massimiliano and his buddy took Mark and I for dinner (At 11:30 at night!) to a terrific restaurant in Florence that had some of the best pizza I have ever had. The one thing that’s great about Florence is that you can always count on a great meal to solve any problems you are having that day!