On Saturday night, Britiain’s Frank Buglioni was dominated by Russia’s WBA Super Middleweight champion, Fedor Chudinov. It was no tickling contest as Chudinov tagged his challenger with a hard piston-jab and an array of power shots throughout.
Buglioni made one hell of a stand, however, demonstrating true resilience by taking every shot and not touching the canvas at any point during the gruelling 12-rounder at the SSE Arena, London. The 26-year-old also showcased his own power by knocking down Chudinov with a crunching right in the 6th – it was just a shame it cost Buglioni two points having landed just after the bell.
In an event labeled ‘Man vs Machine’, Buglioni managed to make that ‘machine’ seem a lot more human. Buglioni managed to get his stalking foe’s attention from the first bell, tagging his man with quick, registering combinations during the early stages, and even during explosive spurts later down the stretch.
With his world title dreams shattered, Buglioni still promises boxing fans they haven’t seen the last of him yet.
“I had a fantastic opportunity for the world title and I gave it my best,” Buglioni told Boxing News. “I stuck it with one of the world’s top super-middleweights, but on the night he was the better man.
“I’ll be back from this, it’s still early and raw, but I’ll go back to the drawing board and start again. His punches were very correct and he had a good defense, he gets my respect, he’s a very good fighter.
“While it’s hard to take defeat I believe that I showed my fighting heart and courage and I thank my loyal fans for their tremendous support.”
Hopefully Buglioni will make a return to the ring after a much-needed rest. After a tune-up, perhaps against another fellow Brit like George Groves? Now that would be a tasty domestic showdown for early/mid 2016.
What do you think? Where do Frank Buglioni and Fedor Chudinov go from here?
Mark Phillips is the Head Staff Writer/Assistant Editor at BoxingBase.com, and provides worldwide news, coverage and analysis – he can be reached via our Contact Page.
