By Jake Donovan
Giovanni Lorenzo didn’t need to fluently speak or understand German to know that the biggest announcement of his life was about to be made moments after his 12-round vacant title fight last September versus Sebastian Sylvester.
The verdict was a split decision, Lorenzo winning by four points on one card, Sylvester by the same margin on another. Then came the reading of the third card.
“Ein hundert fünfzehn, ein hundert dreizehn, und der neue…”
There was a long enough pause to where Lorenzo had a moment to imagine his name being revealed at the end of the sentence, even if he couldn’t fully translate the words preceding it.
But the final two spoken words were clear enough to know it would be a long plane ride home back to the United States.
“… Sebastian… Syl… ves-ter!”
For his squat German opponent, it was redemption after a failed title bid a year prior against Felix Sturm. Moments after his fight last September, Lorenzo and his handlers pointed out that Sylvester received a second chance after dropping a decisive decision to Sturm, and hoped that their close call in this fight would lead to another opportunity, preferably a rematch to the fighter against whom he narrowly lost.
Fast forward 50 weeks later. Lorenzo receives his second chance. It’s not the rematch with Sylvester that they hoped for, but instead his former rival’s conqueror in Sturm, as the pair of 2000 Summer Olympic boxers are set to square off later this evening at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany in a bout that airs live in the United States on ESPN3.com and ESPNDeportes (4:30PM ET).
The irony in Lorenzo receiving a second crack at alphabet glory comes is that he was actually in negotiations for a fight that – had he won – would’ve led to a rematch with Sylvester.
“We were in negotiations to fight Daniel Geale of Australia for the IBF middleweight #1 position,” Lorenzo recalls of the day he received the phone call to once again travel to Deutschland for his second title shot in just under a year.
The chance to fight Geale was similar to how the Sturm fight fell into his lap, which is to say he wasn’t the first choice. His name surfaced as a replacement for Matthew Macklin, who chose to instead pursue a regional title shot against Darren Barker on Frank Warren’s “Magnificent Seven” card later this month, only for that fight to fall through after Barker pulled out due to an injury.
Macklin remains on the card against a new opponent, but it was clearly an opportunity lost.
Not so for Lorenzo, whose status upgraded the moment Sturm’s handlers dialed his number a little over a month ago. Lorenzo was actually third on the list of opponents Sturm had in mind for his first fight since breaking free from long time promoter Universum.
Marco Antonio Rubio was initially slated as the opponent before pulling out of the fight. Peter Manfredo Jr. was next offered the title shot, but was reluctant to grant options to Arena-Box, who is working with free agent Sturm for this fight.
Lorenzo (29-2, 21KO) didn’t hesitate to accept, viewing the fight as a chance to redeem himself and hopefully wash away the bad taste left behind in his narrow loss to Sylvester.
To this day, he and his handlers firmly believe they should’ve left the ring that evening with the belt around his waist, but instead chalk up the night to a learning experience.
“What I learned from (the Sylvester fight) was that you can't leave it to the judges,” Lorenzo claims. “You have to take it out of their hands by being more aggressive and going for the knockout.”
Lorenzo fought with such a mindset for the first seven or so rounds, jumping out to an early lead as he took advantage of Sylvester’s slow start. However, the 2000 Dominican Olympian faded in the latter portion of the fight, giving away crucial rounds in an already close fight.
With the fight rapidly slipping away, Lorenzo offered a brave last stand in the 12th and final round, but it proved to be too little, too late on two of the three scorecards.
The loss was his second in a span of three fights, landing on the wrong side of a huge upset in a title eliminator against aged former champ Raul Marquez more than a year prior.
He has scored two knockouts since the loss to Sylvester and – still a month shy of his 30th birthday – still has time to make something of his career. But until his hand is raised in victory in a fight that truly matters, there is still plenty of work to be done in the eyes of his critics, as well as his own assessment of a career that hasn’t quite measured up to the hype.
“Until I win the middleweight championship, I cannot say that I’ve met my personal expectations,” Lorenzo admits. “But I still have a lot to offer (the sport) and a lot more exciting fights in me.”
Several have contended that Lorenzo might be catching Sturm at the perfect time.
A three-time titlist and a member of the 2000 German Olympic boxing team (fighting as the boxing artist formerly known as Adman Catic), Sturm has achieved plenty as a pro but enters this fight on the heels of a career-long 14-month layoff. The lengthy hiatus was forced due to his successful legal battle with Universum, his promoter since turning pro in 2001.
Tonight’s bout will be his first under any other banner, flying his own promotional colors although working with Ahmet Oner for this fight until his own company gets off of the ground.
The fact that Lorenzo is facing a longtime titlist in his hometown under the auspices of his own promotional company suggests that his night could once again with his disagreeing with the judges should the bout go to the scorecards.
Despite the in-ring politics that come with fighting on the road, Lorenzo instead takes his second trip to Germany for what it is – a chance to fight in a region where boxing is still recognized as a major sport.
“Germany is a great place to fight,” Lorenzo insists. “The people are very nice. You walk down the street and people recognize you and make you feel like a star.”
Lorenzo has a chance to become a star in a division that was rapidly waning in popularity but appears to be back on an upswing. The division has witnessed a massive changing of the guard in 2010, with Lorenzo confident that tonight will end with his being the latest member of that revolution.
“The middleweight is heating up. We already have two new champions this year (Sergio Martinez and Dmitry Pirog) and I will be the third. New faces are good for boxing.”
In his effort to join that club, Lorenzo will have to knock off a longtime incumbent and in his own backyard no less. But no matter where a fight takes place, a ring is a ring once the opening bell sounds. And in this particular ring, Lorenzo firmly believes he has the right opponent in front of him to help realize his dream.
“I’ve always believed that Sturm was one of the most protected fighters in boxing. I am fully prepared for this fight and expect to be the new middleweight champion (tonight).”
Or ‘der neue,’ at least if he plans to keep coming to Germany for his title opportunities.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.