After the incredible results of Malta’s rugby team, football team, and weightlifter Yazmin Zammit Stevens, the country also got its very own boxing champion this weekend.

Haithem Laamouz was crowned the WBC’s Mediterranean Champion after beating Italian Vittorio Parrinello, an olympic bronze medalist, in a fight held at Corradino Sports Complex.

After becoming the first ever Maltese person to have won a title belt, Laamouz took to social media to share his joy over his impressive result.

Laamouz’s victory represents a massive rebound from losing the Australian Lightweight title two years ago and could very well open the door to him chasing bigger fights in the future.

The champion boxer was initially meant to fight Benoit Manno, however, he was ruled out as he could not make the weight.

Parrinello, in fact, actually represented a much tougher fight fro Laamouz given his pedigree in international competition.

The WBC is one of four major organisations which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the International Boxing Federation (IBF), World Boxing Association (WBA) and World Boxing Organization (WBO).

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Julian Bonnici

Julian is the former editor of Lovin Malta and has a particular interest in politics, the environment, social issues, and human interest stories.