Domenico Valentino (born 17 May 1984 in

Marcianise Marcianise is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy. History In the area of the commune of Marcianise numerous tombs of Etruscan and Roman age have been excavated, although Oscan elements should have pre-exist ...

) is a

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

from Italy. The hard punching Valentino won a bronze medal at lightweight at the

2004 European Amateur Boxing Championships The men's 2004 European Amateur Boxing Championships were held in Pula, Croatia, from February 19 to February 29. The 35th edition of thi bi-annual competition was organised by the European governing body for amateur boxing, EABA. A total number ...

Pula, Croatia Pula (; also known as Pola, it, Pola , hu, Pòla, Venetian; ''Pola''; Istriot: ''Puola'', Slovene: ''Pulj'') is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, and the seventh-largest city in the country, situated at the southern tip of the ...

. He participated in the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. There he was stopped in the quarterfinals of the

Lightweight (60 kg) Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight boxe ...

division by Kazakhstan's eventual bronze medalist

Serik Yeleuov Serik Samatovich Yeleuov (born 15 December 1980) is a Kazakhstani boxer who won the bronze medal in the men's lightweight (– 60 kg) division at the 2004 Summer Olympics. In the final bout, he defeated Iran's Mohamed Asheri. Yeleuov q ...

. At the

2005 World Amateur Boxing Championships The men's 2005 World Amateur Boxing Championships were held in Mianyang, China, from November 13 to November 20. The competition was organised by the world's governing body for amateur boxing AIBA. Medal winners Medal table External lin ...

he once more won bronze. At the Euro 2006 he lost early to

Olexandr Klyuchko Oleksandr Klyuchko (Ukrainian: Олександр Ключко) (born July 11, 1984 in Mykolaiv) is an amateur boxer from Ukraine who won a bronze medal in the lightweight division at the 2006 European Amateur Boxing Championships. He has qualifi ...

18:30. At the

2007 World Amateur Boxing Championships The 2007 AIBA World Boxing Championships were held in Chicago, United States from October 23, 2007 to November 3, 2007. It was held at the UIC Pavilion. It was the biggest World Championships in AIBA history. The competition is under the super ...

he at last made it to the finals beating North Korean Kim Song-Guk but lost to Frankie Gavin. At the

2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...

he beat

Tahar Tamsamani Tahar Tamsamani (born 10 September 1980) is a retired Moroccan boxer. He competed at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympics and won a bronze medal in 2000. In 2000 he won a bronze medal in the featherweight (57 kg) division, after falling in the ...

but lost to Cuban favorite

Yordenis Ugás Yordenis Ugás Hernández (born 14 July 1986) is a Cuban professional boxer. He held the WBA (Super) welterweight title from 2021 to April 2022, having previously held the WBA (Regular) title from 2020 until being elevated to Super champion. As ...

2:10. At the

2009 World Amateur Boxing Championships The 2009 AIBA World Boxing Championships were held in Milan, Italy, from September 1, 2009 to September 12, 2009, in the Mediolanum Forum. It was the biggest World Championships in AIBA history. The competition was under the supervision of the ...

he used the absence of Gavin (who had turned professional) and Ugas (who had gone up in weight) and home advantage to win his first major title. At the

2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, he again reached the quarter-finals, losing to eventual bronze medalist

Evaldas Petrauskas Evaldas Petrauskas (born 19 March 1992 in Šilutė, Lithuania) is a Lithuanian boxer. He represented Lithuania at 2010 Summer Youth Olympics and won a gold medal. At the 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships he lost to Jai Bhagwan (IND). He w ...

. Valentino has signed up for the new

AIBA The International Boxing Association (IBA), previously known as the Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur (AIBA), is an independent sport organization that sanctions amateur (Olympic-style) boxing matches and awards world and subordinate cha ...

professional league, called APB (AIBA Pro-Boxing), which will launch in autumn 2013.

Amateur results

2004 Athens Olympic Games *1st round bye *Defeated Mohammed Asheri (Iran) 37-18 *Lost to

(Kazakhstan) 23-29 2007 AIBA World Amateur championships *Defeated Luis Ernesto Rueda (Argentina) RSC 3 (1:43) *Defeated Daijiro Hoshi (Japan) 27-9 *Defeated

Eric Donovan Eric Donovan (born 26 July 1985) is an Irish professional boxer. As an amateur he was a five-time Irish national champion and won bronze medals at the 2009 European Union Championships and the 2010 European Championships. His new website has ...

(Ireland) 29-12 *Defeated

Hrachik Javakhyan Hrachik Javakhyan ( hy, Հրաչիկ Ջավախյան, born on July 6, 1984, in Vanadzor, Armenian SSR) is an Armenian boxer best known to win gold at the 2010 European Amateur Boxing Championships and bronze at the 2008 Summer Olympics. ...

(Armenia) 27-12 *Defeated Kim Song-Guk (North Korea) 22-14 *Lost to Frankie Gavin (England) 10-18 2009 AIBA World Amateur championships

References

External links

* * * *
Yahoo! Sports
1984 births Living people Lightweight boxers Boxers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Boxers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Boxers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers of Italy People from Marcianise Sportspeople from the Province of Caserta Italian male boxers AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Italy Competitors at the 2005 Mediterranean Games Competitors at the 2009 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in boxing Boxers of Fiamme Oro {{Italy-boxing-bio-stub