The Italian squad has defeated twice the Algerian team in their dual matches which were held in Sardinia, in Porto Torres. The friendly encounters were part of an active preparation for upcoming events.
Algeria's best boxer, Beijing Olympic Games quarter-finalist Abdelhafid Benchabla, secured his visa for the London Olympic Games with a gold medal at the WSB Individual Championships. The 25-year-old athlete who remained unbeaten in the WSB defeated Italy's AIBA Youth World Championships bronze medalist, four years younger than him, Gianluca Rosciglione, in the light heavyweight class. Benchabla claimed the North African nation's only victory in Porto Torres.
Italy's light flyweight No.2 AIBA Youth World Championships competitor, 19-year-old Manuel Cappai, has still a chance to integrate the national top-squad and take part in the AIBA World Championships in Baku. The Italian teenager defeated twice Algeria's World Combat Games bronze medalist, 21-year-old Mohamed Flissi, by points.
National Championships silver medalist, Italy's newcomer Riccardo D'Andrea, only had one bout in the encounters but triumphed over Algeria's unexperienced Mohamed Bousmaha in the flyweight class. That kind of event gives boxers a great occasion to enhance their international background.
Italy's bantamweight National Champion, Ciro Cipriano, was facing Algeria's great hope, 18-year-old Reda Benbaziz, who competed at the 2009 AIBA Junior World Championships as well as at the 2010 AIBA Youth World Championships. Cipriano performed well and defeated twice his young rival.
In the lightweight class, Italy's newcomer Michele De Filippo had to fight against Algeria's Brahim Oukil who competed at the Belgrade Winner Tournament in April but lost his first bout to Hungary's Miklos Varga. Their even contests ended with a draw.
National Championships bronze medalist, Italy's new wave Raffaele Munno, and veteran European Championships competitor, Carmine Cirillo, both defeated Algeria's Zoheir Kadache in the welterweight division.
Light heavyweight's Italian National Champion, Luca Capuano, who moved down a category, and his teammate AIBA World Championships competitor, 24-year-old Luca Podda, both triumphed over Algeria's veteran, 31-year-old Saad Kaddous, in the middleweight class.
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