Frank Buglioni: How Far Is This Kid Going To Go?
Buglioni’s Trajectory Offers a Glimpse into the Next Big Thing in Mainstream British Boxing
Buglioni takes on 34 year old Italian Gaetano Nespro (21(3)-9(3)-1) in defence of the WBO European super middleweight title. The fight offers a step up in quality of opposition of sorts for the much touted & media friendly 168lber who trains out of TRAD TKO Gym in Canning Town (home of fellow Tibbs trainee Billy Joe Sanders). Frank is 11 – 0 with 8 wins coming by way of knockout going into the first defence of the belt he won in his last bout.
I asked Ben Doughty, who trained the young fighter whilst he was a promising amateur at the famed Repton Boxing Club, his thoughts on the progression & prospects of the Enfield fighter:
“If you could bottle Frank Buglioni’s temperament and mindset you could sell it as a supplement for fighters. He is just so grounded and willing to pay the price of success, under Mark Tibbs’ tutelage he has grown into a solid 10 round fighter and he will win more meaningful titles than the WBO European strap that he defends this coming Saturday.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dITDLyrX3Ho
The still 24-year old Buglioni has sparred Nathan Cleverly as well as Carl Froch (during Frank’s amateur days) & enjoys the promotional backing of Britain’s most established promoter in Frank Warren. Additionally he is managed by William Storey, a man who has taken care of the business & contractual needs of “world leading footballers, bands, boxers, tennis players, artists , F1 drivers and international events” – based in Monaco – this is a kid with a 5 star support network. Interestingly Storey attended the University of St. Andrews & was said to be on friendly terms with the future Duchess of Cambridge, then Kate Middleton as well as Prince William.
Of a potential meeting with Callum Smith Buglioni opined, “It’s definitely brewing to be a nice domestic dust-up.” It was clear to me from my time speaking with “The Wise Guy” that he regards a potential meeting with Smith as a far more logical entry point to post-educational phase match-ups than say one with Chris Eubank Junior:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnGHyhEfQYw
Sky Sports’ Spencer Fearon gave me this take on the young super middleweight’s prospects going forward, “Good fighter… he’s not the finished article but is a star in the making & is very keen for knowledge and a good listener with a massive fan-base too.“
Watch Buglioni’s next step toward the big time live and exclusive this Saturday on BoxNation (Sky Channel 437) or in HD (Sky Channel 449) or on Virgin (Channel 546).