Rocco Gattellari (6 September 1941 – 23 June 2023) was an Italian-Australian boxer, Olympian, political candidate and businessman. He was the 2010 Inductee for the

Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame was founded in 2001 and began inducting boxers into the Hall of Fame in 2003. Since then annual induction dinners have been held across Australia. Inductees are nominated and then voted upon by a panel of ...

Veterans category.

Olympic Games

Gattellari was selected in the Australian team for the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

in Rome, Italy. He defeated Abdelkader Belghiti from Morocco before losing to eventual gold medalist

Gyula Török Gyula Török (24 January 1938 – 12 January 2014) was an amateur Hungarian boxer. Competing in the flyweight division he won the national title in 1957–58, a silver medal at the 1959 European Championships, and a gold medal at the 1960 Olym ...

from Hungary.

Professional career

Gattellari made his professional debut on 18 September 1961. On 26 February 1962 he won the Australian

flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of bo ...

championship title, which he defended twice. On 2 December 1965 he contested the world flyweight title, losing to

Salvatore Burruni Salvatore Burruni (11 April 1933 – 30 March 2004) was an Italian flyweight and bantamweight boxing, boxer who fought between 1957 and 1969.Lionel Rose Lionel Edmund Rose MBE (21 June 1948 – 8 May 2011) was an Australian former professional boxer who competed from 1964 to 1976. He held the undisputed WBA, WBC, and ''The Ring'' bantamweight titles from 1968 to 1969, becoming the first Ind ...

for the Australian

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from Ba ...

title, losing by a knockout in the 13th round. He retired in 1968. Gattellari made a comeback in 1979, fighting Paul Ferreri for the Australian

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

title. He lost by a TKO in the 3rd round. Gattellari retired with a professional record of 21 wins (12 by knockout), three losses (all knockouts) and one draw.

Retirement

Upon retirement Gattellari became a restaurateur, opening

Berowra Waters Inn Berowra Waters Inn is a restaurant, owned and run by Head Chef Brian Geraghty, located at Berowra Waters along Berowra Creek (a tributary of the Hawkesbury River), near Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, 50 minutes from downtown Sydney, Austra ...

and then Rocky's at Edgecliff. He went on to become a finance broker. Gattellari contested the

1995 New South Wales state election Elections to the 51st Parliament of New South Wales were held on Saturday 25 March 1995. All seats in the Legislative Assembly and half the seats in the Legislative Council were up for election. The minority Liberal Party-led Coalition governm ...

as the Liberal candidate for

Cabramatta Cabramatta ('Cabra') is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Cabramatta is located south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Fairfield. Cabramatta ...

. He was defeated by Labor incumbent

Reba Meagher Reba Paige Meagher (born 11 September 1967) is a former Australian politician who was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, representing the electoral district of Cabramatta. She was a minister in various portfolios from 2003 to ...

who sought an

apprehended violence order An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in par ...

against him. Gattellari died in Sydney on 23 June 2023, at the age of 81.

Autobiography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gattellari, Rocky 1941 births 2023 deaths Sportspeople from the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria Olympic boxers for Australia Flyweight boxers Boxers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Italian emigrants to Australia Australian male boxers Australian people of Calabrian descent