Pamela Malvina Noutcho, the nurse's fairytale: she beats Carabajal and wins the world championship.

Pamela Malvina Noutcho Sawa has done it. She closed the first circle of her career (nine fights, all won) by capturing the IBO lightweight world title after a battle against Argentina's Karen Carabajal. The IBO isn't one of the four acronyms that dominate the boxing world (these are the WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO), but it's the best way to get there. In the ring at the Paladozza in Bologna, the story of the nurse from the Maggiore, who came to Italy from Cameroon when she was eight years old and was the protagonist of a 20-year marathon to obtain citizenship, has thus been enriched by an extraordinary new chapter.

Carabajal, a very tough opponent

Burbuja (the Bubble, as the Argentine calls herself) proved to be a tough opponent: it's no coincidence that she came to Emilia with a record of 25 wins and only 2 losses, both in world championship matches, one of which was against the unrivaled Katie Taylor. The intense, at times brutal, match was decided on points with a split decision. Two judges saw Pamela win with scores of 97-92 (an frankly incomprehensible assessment) and 95-94, while the third overturned the latter score in favor of the 35-year-old from Buenos Aires.

Two styles compared

The ring was evenly balanced. The Bolognese displayed her aggressive, pure fighter boxing (it's no coincidence that she was nicknamed Tyson as a young girl), while the Argentine gained the upper hand stylistically, landing, in our opinion, the heavier punches. In short, many rounds were awarded in the classic nuanced fashion, and in the end, Pamela emerged victorious, albeit by a hair's breadth.

Match with alternating phases

It was a difficult situation to predict by watching the first two rounds. Noutcho exorcised the tension of the match (she even got emotional at the press conference) by starting like a rocket: short, powerful shots, but also showcasing a good left jab. From the third round, Burbuja shifted gears, varying her boxing style between volleys and long-range punches. "You can feel them," Pamela admitted between rounds. The story continued until the seventh round, when a series of strikes sent Noutcho to the canvas, resulting in a count. It could have been a turning point, but the girl from the extremely popular Bolognina Boxe team pulled out all the stops with energy and character. After an exchange, Carabajal suffered significant swelling under her right eye, but the doctor gave her the okay to continue. This was a factor that penalized her in the final two rounds, when both fought like there was no tomorrow. In the end, Pamela's smile lit up the Paladozza. Now the patients of Bologna's Maggiore Hospital will be able to say they are being treated by a world champion.