by James Slater: Last night, in Lombardia, Italy, reigning European Union cruiserweight champ Giacobbe Fragomeni of Milan out pointed his former sparring partner Konstantin Semerdjiev of Bulgaria over 12 dull and disappointing rounds. After the less than excitement-filled 12 rounder was over, Fragomeni was awarded a unanimous decision victory. This writer struggled to give Semerdjiev a single round..
Indeed, the two men fought at times as though they were merely sparring partners, as they once were of course. The tank-like Fragomeni was content to trundle forward and occasionally let his hands go in effective bursts. This was not enough to get rid of the slower, yet durable-looking Bulgarian, however. Fragomeni, known mostly for his great fight with current cruiserweight king David Haye – a losing effort in 9 exciting rounds back in November of 2006 – still has hopes of becoming a world champion.
Last night’s win was no great advert for a deserved shot, but the 38 year old has only lost that one fight to Haye. And with Haye’s departure up to the heavyweights, a world title shot isn’t that unrealistic a possibility for Fragomeni. Highly ranked by the WBC, the 38 year old could well see himself getting a chance to fight for the title as soon as Haye vacates it.
Last night’s fight was a poor bout to watch, though. Some good body work from the Italian got the fans thinking a stoppage might be on the cards, but it was not to be. Fragomeni was simply too one paced throughout, knowing he was in no danger from the 35 year old who had not knocked anyone out since 2001. If anything, the fight provided Fragomeni with a good twelve round workout. Not that he needed it, having gone the full 12 in his previous two bouts. There was nothing wrong with Semerdjiev’s bravery and durability, but the feeling all night was if only the champion would really make a concerted effort to get his man out of there, he could have done so.
Still, a win’s a win, and Fragomeni, now unbeaten in four since his 9th round stoppage loss to Haye, marches onward in search of a big fight. He improved to 25-1(10) with last night’s victory. The deposed Semerdjiev, who fell to 24-10-2(15) might consider retirement as his best option. The referee was the U.K’s Ian John-Lewis.