Ivan Zucco
Verbania, Italy
Super Middleweight
16-0 (14)
Reach: n/a
Height 6’0 1/2
Southpaw
Fights scouted: Pavel Zgurean, Luca Capuano, Marko Nikolic
Ivan Zucco has won all 16 of his professional bouts and has won all but two of them by way of stoppage. He fights from the southpaw stance. He captured the vacant WBC international super-middleweight title, he also won the Italy Super middleweight title back in 2021.
Strengths- Zucco like many Italian fighters can fight from both stances and is comfortable fighting in both the southpaw and conventional stance. He is predominantly a lefty, however. A southpaw counter puncher with big-time pop that looks like it will translate at the highest levels. He likes to counter, he is a catch-and-shoot guy, who mostly fights out of a high guard position. He prefers to black shots and fire back. His straight left hand is his greatest strength. It’s pinpoint accuracy and has plenty of snap on it. He has a good job, a stiff jab that he steps into, and can act as a power punch. He needs to fire it more often. He will often lead with a right hook that has plenty of sting on it but is often wild. He prefers to fight from long range and is really skilled and has a knack for judging distances and finding his range. He uses this to perfection to score with his money shot, the straight left. He is also skilled on the inside and can rip uppercuts and thudding hooks in close range. He keeps his punches sharp and neat & clean on the inside. There’s no wind-up or overloading on his shots on the inside. He also slips his head off the centerline pretty well and can make you miss. His footwork is not spectacular but fundamentally sound he isn’t tripping over himself for a guy who isn’t fleet of foot. He is continually getting better. He fixes a lot of his mechanical errors from fight to fight. That suggests he’s coachable and has a good work ethic. He is also very comfortable going backward. He can fight at all three distances
His greatest strength is obviously his power, he lands, specifically the straight left hand over the top, he hurts you, he lands it on the button and is pinpoint accurate with that particular punch. He also has great killer instincts and finishes wounded opponents. He also breaks his opponents down and breaks their spirit with his power and physical strength.
Weaknesses- The most glaring weakness is his lack of footspeed and hand speed. He is fairly coordinated with his footwork but he has trouble moving, tracking opponents down, and keeping them in against the ropes. He has issues cutting off the ring and a quick fleet-footed fighter might give him nightmares. He also is extremely wide and long with his lead right hook at times. Given his wide shots and less than stellar hand speed he is there to be countered if you are willing to stand in with him. He also lounges at times and is falling over his front foot when he gets impatient. He doesn’t attack the body nearly enough. Which for a guy that can break you down is not a good sign. He doesn’t like to take the lead and his punch output plummets if you refuse to cooperate and take the lead. He also doesn’t have great size. He stands just a hair over 6-foot and isn’t that solidly built. He may be fighting in the wrong weight class, he has plenty of snap for 168 but given his size, he might be a better fit at 160 if he can make the weight. He does shell up at times and a quick-fisted volume puncher might be able to overwhelm him with volume. He has faced limited opposition at the Italian and European levels. He certainly has passed the test with flying colors but really needs to step up. He is 26-years-old entering his physical prime and has potential and has shown vast improvements over the last two years or so.
Scout Grade: Top 15 super middleweight. His power makes up for a multitude of sins and knows how to deliver it. He can set it up with his jab and has excellent timing, knows how to use distances, and deliver power shots in all three distances. That will get him past most competition until he gets to the most elite level. However, his flaws are noticeable and his lack of foot and hand speed is going to limit him at the highest level combined with his tendency to swing his right hook, really wide and long he can be countered with hard shots. he did stand up well when he was rocked with an uppercut by Nikolic in his last fight. His chin seems durable and passed its first big test. If he can get into real-world title contention at some point will be determined only when he takes a real major step up.
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