At the age of 38, Emanuele is an 11-year pro. A contender at 160 pounds, he has won four fights in a row since his last loss in June, 2015.
He is making his Japanese debut in this fight. He has fought 27 times in his native Italy and one time each in England and Germany.
In his last fight on June 17, 2017 in Saint-Vincent, Italy, Emanuele made his first defense of the European middleweight title and 12-round unanimous decision against Alessandro Goddi.
Boxing News’ Eric Armit reported [excerpts]: Blandamura retains the European title with close unanimous decision over Goddi in this all-Italian clash.
Blandamura boxed cleverly to take an early lead. Blandamura was cautiously sticking almost exclusively to the jab and finding enough gaps to edge the rounds and was in front 39-37 on two cards with the third reading 38-38.
Over the middle rounds Goddi pressed harder and his aggression saw him get back into the fight and keep it close and he clawed back the initial lead of Blandamura over the fifth six and seventh only for Blandamura to take the eighth. The fight poised to go either way as the scores were 76-76 twice and 77-75 for Blandamura.
However, just as he had won the eighth, Blandamura began to take over the fight. He had paced the bout better and increased both his work rate and his accuracy as Goddi faded.
Over the late rounds both tired with too much clinching, but Blandamura had moved into a winning lead after 11 rounds and despite a big effort by Goddi in the last, Blandamura had done enough to earn the decision. Scores 115-113 twice and 116-112 all for “Sioux” Blandamura. [End Armit item]
Emanuele said through an interpreter that he had had a 10-week training camp for this fight at the Pro Fighting Gym in Rome and the OPI Gym in Milan.
Emanuele described his own style as “box and move, but it depends on the opponent.”
He described Ryota Murata as “a good fighter with decent power.”
At the press conference in Tokyo announcing this fight, Emanuele said, “I’ve competed in boxing for 20 years, but today’s a special day for me. It’s not even an overstatement to say this is the best day of my life. I have the utmost respect for Murata. It will be a career-defining fight for me.”
Regarding his nickname, he said, “I read books about American Indians and I liked them.”
AMATEUR, PERSONAL BACKGROUND: Emanuele said through an interpreter that he was born in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy, and is an only child…his father is retired and his mother is a wedding planner…he is the only boxer in his family…
He started boxing at the age of 18: “A friend of mine suggested boxing because I was overactive and I needed to be more focused in my life.”
Emanuele said that he had 44 amateur fights, with 30 wins…”I was a two-time regional champion. I won a silver medal at the Italian national championships and a silver medal at the SABAC International tournemant.”
He said that he is naturally right-handed…he also teaches boxing in a gym and works in security…he is single and has no children…
AMATEUR HIGHLIGHTS:
2006 ITALIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS – Milan, Italy, 165 pounds – SILVER MEDALIST: in his first fight on 12-5-06 he won a 28-10 decision against Michele Meucci; in the quarterfinals on 12-6-06 he won a 23-21 decision against Roberto Silvestro; in the semifinals on 12-8-06 he won a 40-19 decision against Vincenzo Zarbo; in the finals on 12-9-06 he was stopped in the 3rd round against Ciro Di Corcia…
STRENGTHS: Has good skills and movement… a pure boxer – at his best, he keeps his opponents off-balance with movement and out-boxes and out-works them…is experienced against very good opposition…
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: 11 years…29 fights…196 total rounds…
AVERAGE LENGTH OF BOUTS: 6.7 rounds…
KNOCKOUT PERCENTAGE: of total fights – 17 %…of wins – 18 %…
DISTANCE FIGHTS: 12 rounds – 4 (4-0)…10 rounds – 1 (1-0)…
