Less that two weeks removed from his world title win, we speak with Harry Gigliotti.
With the ultimate highs and the catastrophic lows that combat sports can bring, it’s common for fights to go beyond just the punches, and storylines to emerge. That was the case for BYB bare knuckler, Harry Gigiliotti. In the lead-up to his bout with Joe Fitzpatrick at BYB 32 for the Police Gazette Super Lightweight World Diamond belt, Gigliotti was fighting a silent battle with bronchitis, and although fights have been canceled for a lot less, the New England-based fighter opted to move forward.
However, it wasn’t just a world title that was hanging in the balance of this bout; it was a promise, made by a grandson to his 92-year-old grandfather, that he would win this world title for him. So while there were already stakes as high as they could be with a world title at the end of the road, a public declaration made to his grandfather ramped up the intensity.
“I think I put the pressure on me; I said to my Papa, “I want to win the world title for you” I already put pressure on me, but now my family, the lineage, and then I’m going to announce it on camera in front of hundreds of thousands of people… But the stress I had to put on myself helped me through the sickness; it made it more of a reality like okay, now we have to go do this, now it’s time to get the job done. I had to prove it that night, that this is who I am.”
And proving it wouldn’t be without its own set of obstacles. An early blitz by his opponent, Fitzpatrick sent Gigliotti back into the ropes, in trouble just seconds into the first round.
“That first blitz was just insane…I thought: he’s using all this power, I don’t think he’s going to be able to keep this pace, but I’m going to have to weather this right now. I wanted a slower pace and all of a sudden he’s jumping on me, this is going to be a dog fight.”
But what had every indication of being a long-drawn-out brawl, quickly gave way when a perfect shot to the liver sent Fitzpatrick to the canvas in a heap. As the referee approached the end of his count, Fitzpatrick got back to his feet, but after shaking his head, no, the match was called, and Gigliotti was a world champ.
With a belt draped over his shoulder an emotional Gigliotti took to the microphone inside the Trigon.
“I love you Papa, I said I was going to bring it home and I did. I almost pulled out, I was sick as hell, but I pushed through it. I wanted this belt so bad, I wanted to prove to everyone that I was a world champion and tonight I got the job done.”
When asked about life after winning the belt, a smile from ear to ear spread across the 29-year-olds face.
“It’s still surreal, it’s kind of all setting in now, every time I look at the belt, I’m like, I did that, I'm a world champion… I earned it, I worked for, and I earned it… It shows that some young kid from a small town can be anything.”
“(My fans) I love them to death, even my haters I love them to death because it pushes me to be better. The people that support me day in and day out, fans, friends, family, that's why I do it.”
On the south side of 30, the new champion has so many options you’ll have to come back and read about them in tomorrow’s article wink wink. But I’ll send you off with this: when I asked about what’s next, he mentioned a possible move to 135-lbs., a trip up to 147-lbs., or of course defending his newly minted title, but regardless of weight class, the message to them was the same.
“Look out, I’m coming for ya’, or better off, you’re coming for me, and I’m going to defend this title with everything I got. Everybody on the roster, I like, I don’t have a real enemy this is just business. But if you’re coming for my title, I’m going to hurt ya’, I’m gonna beat the piss out of ya’.”
All Photo's Courtesy of BYB Extreme.
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