Vinicius Marinho turned the tide with Tererê, and won by 8-2. Photo: Gustavo Aragão
After being greeted by the good performance at Copa Podio, lightweight Vinicius Marinho, who placed third in the Lightweight Grand Prix overall, sat on the floor next to the reporter with legs crossed and eyes shining.
“The campaign was cool, but fighting Tererê was certainly the highlight. It was an indescribable emotion,” said the GFTeam athlete, remembering his performance in the duel of the event opening, which started to ensure the victory of GFTeam over Alliance in three matches that ended in a total score of 14-4.
“When I found myself face to face with him I even lost my focus, because I knew it was a magical moment. But then he swept me and I was forced to return to reality and fight. I swept back and it all worked out,” said Vinicius, who may fight in the middleweight division at Worlds in Long Beach.
Tererê’s reaction to the match was content.
“Fernando is coming back now, and an eventual victory would show a lot. He needs a nutritionist and a fitness coach to get back to his good shape,” said Elan Santiago, Alliance black belt and a childhood friend of the black belt. “Not to mention that the guy spent the last 20 days eating almost nothing, at most fruit, in order to lose weight. He was weak. He swept beautifully but then he couldn’t avoid having his X-guard swept the same way that Rodolfo swept Léo Leite in their duel.”
Help of Tatiana and Marcelo Garcia
Tererê entertained the crowd at Hebraica on Sunday. His presence was celebrated by the organizer, Jeferson Maycá, who already thinks about the Cantagalo star in an upcoming superfight at middleweight, Fernando’s category. But the black belt has other plans before that.
Last week, Fernando went to the U.S. consulate in Rio with as many documents as possible. “He even had a recommendation letter from the Pope,” joked Elan. Before the official, he heard that only one document was missing: The certificate of acquittal of a process from when he lived in the U.S., due to a confusion on board of an aircraft. “I don’t have it, I’ve lost it,” said Tererê.
The document must now be obtained in the U.S. In New York, Tatiana Tognini and Marcelo Garcia have put themselves at disposal and are helping the friend. If he gets his visa on time, Tererê will again be seen on the edge of the mats in Long Beach. Or on top of them, if he gets back to his weight, willing to compete again.
A double black belt world champion in 2000 and 2003, Fernando Tererê hasn’t fought in the event since 2004, when he got the silver medal in the ultra heavy against Fabricio Werdum.
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