Cristóbal Lorente (15-0-1, 7 KOs) will make his first defense of the Spanish Featherweight Championship on March 11 in Barcelona, and he will do so with an old acquaintance, Juan José Antúnez (9-1-0, 3 KOs). ). The Catalan boxer put on his belt after defeating him in 2021 by TKO in the sixth round. “Rematches are always attractive”, explains Lorente, who assures that the first match was “little by little”, he was “lucky enough to land that blow that opened him up” and that made him proclaim himself champion.
This was not the clash that Cristóbal Lorente expected. A few months ago, his team announced that they had named him an official contender for the European Union featherweight title and that he would have to face the Polish Kamil Laszczyk (30-0-0, 11 KO). “He simply decided not to come to Barcelona, he said he didn’t want to fight away from home. That was the answer”, explains Lorente. The EBU did not take long to look for another rival, the Italian Francesco Grandelli (16-1-2, 3 KOs), but he was named an official contender for the European Championship. “Logically, it is a higher title to opt for, and, therefore, he has decided to do that fight”, replies the Catalan boxer.
Finally, his rival will be the Italian Mattia de Bianchi (15-1-0, 1 KO), who has been the Italian super bantamweight and featherweight champion. “He has 16 fights, exactly the same as me,” says the Catalan boxer. The clash does not have an official date and is scheduled to take place after March. “Everything and there is no official date, yes we are in a period of negotiations,” explains Cristóbal, who hopes to be able to dispute the title at home. De Bianchi has never fought outside of Italy. “I consider him to be a very experienced opponent, he is much higher in the rankings than me, he is younger. But I already know what it’s like to face difficult opponents and I’m looking forward to that fight.”, he declares.
Cristóbal Lorente comes from winning his last two fights in 2022 before the limit. “My last fight was my first international fight against the Frenchman Lucas Montagne. It ended in the best possible way, I winning by KO in the third round”, declares the man from Barcelona. He prevailed and made the French fighter abandon, who had never fallen before the limit.
At the moment, the rival that awaits him in the ring is Juan José Antúnez, an old acquaintance. Lorente was proclaimed champion in Barcelona in July 2021 after beating him by TKO in the sixth round in an intense fight, surrounded by his own. But the main objective of him remains the title of the European Union. “It is clear that if the fight comes out before March we would go for that, instead of the Spanish Championship, as it is a greater title. Logically, we would go for the greatest treasure”, Explain. This fight will be the first international title that he will play. “We hope that this clash will be like a step that can lift us to higher titles, such as the European one. We see it as a way to set foot in Europe and be able to opt for the title that always opens more doors for you worldwide”, explains Lorente.