Sant Esteve Sesrovires, a small municipality of 8,000 inhabitants in the province of Barcelona, not only produces art, like its illustrious daughter of song, Rosalía, but also European boxing champions. Tania Álvarez, 22, proclaimed herself the new continental super bantamweight boxing queen on Saturday night in Castellbisbal. She defeated the Italian Maria The Russian Cecchi in the final.
Tania defeated the Italian Cecchi in the final points fight at the Casal Cultural de Castellbisbal, the same venue where she had been proclaimed Spanish champion in November. For Álvarez it was her first attempt at the continental title, while for the Italian it was her third, after having lost in her attempts against the Spanish Mary Romero and the Polish Laura Grzyb.
The Catalan boxer showed herself with much more drive, without holding anything back, without speculating, during the 10 rounds of two minutes each. The Italian held on during the first half of the fight, but she gradually faded away.
Maria Cecchi, who suffered the third defeat of her professional career, showed great footwork and tried to force an error from her rival, but was unable to do so. Tania Álvarez's physical display, below the maximum 55,338 kg allowed in the super bantamweight category, was superior, and she was always stronger, so she tipped the balance in her favor.
Even so, Tania Álvarez wanted to reward the public's loyalty by seeking the KO in the tenth and final round. The Italian hugged, she didn't want surprises, although the Catalan guessed her face a couple of times. The victory ended up being decided on points: 96-94, 96-94 and 96-94 proclaimed by the three judges.
"I am very excited and very happy," commented Tania, trained by Toni Moreno. "It was a very intense fight, I enjoyed it a lot, although I also had a hard time at times. The experience has been incredible," said the boxer from Sant Esteve Sesrovires, who wants to enjoy the European champion belt. "Now I want to enjoy it, and when bigger things come, go for them."
