Francesco Damiani (born 4 October 1958) is an Italian former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

who competed from 1985 to 1993. He was the first

WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the W ...

champion, having held the title from 1989 to 1991, as well as the European heavyweight title from 1987 to 1989. As an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist. History ...

he won silver medals in the

super-heavyweight Super heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and competitive bodybuilding. Boxing In amateur boxing, the super heavyweight division is a weight class division for fighters weighing in excess of 91 kilograms (200 pounds). Introduced for t ...

division at the 1982 World Championships and

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

Amateur career

He participated at

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

in Moscow, where he lost to the eventual silver medalist

Piotr Zaev Pyotr Ivanovich Zayev (russian: Пётр Иванович Заев; 26 July 1953 − 29 November 2014) was a Russian heavyweight boxer who won a silver medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics, losing the final to Teófilo Stevenson.

in the quarter-finals. The following year he won the European Amateur Championships in Tampere. At the

1982 World Amateur Boxing Championships The Men's 1982 World Amateur Boxing Championships were held in Munich, West Germany from May 4 to 15. The third edition of this competition, held two years before the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, was organised by the world governi ...

in Munich, he beat the legendary Teofilo Stevenson but lost to

Tyrell Biggs Tyrell Biggs (born December 22, 1960) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 1998, and challenged once for the undisputed heavyweight title in 1987. As an amateur he won a gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics, havin ...

in the final. In 1983 in Varna he became European champion for the second time, beating

Ulli Kaden Ulrich Kaden (born 9 March 1959 in Munich) is a former East German amateur boxer, best known for winning the European title 1987 and 1989 at super heavyweight. Career Kaden was 1980 to 1988 nine times champion of East Germany. In 1981 he lost ...

. He was ranked world's #1 super heavyweight by the AIBA in 1984 (ahead of Tyrell Biggs, who was ranked #2.) At the

in Los Angeles he again lost to Biggs in the final, despite Biggs' home crowd booing at the judges decision who believed Damiani won the contest (since he threw more punches and was moving forward for most of the contest) which led to the leading BBC boxing commentator

Harry Carpenter Harry Leonard Carpenter, OBE (17 October 1925 – 20 March 2010) was a British BBC sports commentator broadcasting from the early 1950s until his retirement in 1994. His speciality was boxing. He was presenter of programmes such as ''Sportsnig ...

, who was commentating for the BBC sport Olympic coverage, to say that "..it was the worst boxing decision in all my years of boxing commentating". Francesco Damiani was the Italian boxing team coach for the London

2012 Summer 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, th ...

Olympic results

1980: * Round of 16: Defeated

Teodor Pîrjol Teodor Pîrjol (born 22 February 1957) is a Romanian boxer. He competed in the men's heavyweight event at the 1980 Summer Olympics. At the 1980 Summer Olympics, he lost to Francesco Damiani Francesco Damiani (born 4 October 1958) is an Itali ...

(Romania) 4-1 * Quarterfinal: Lost to

(Soviet Union) 0-5 1984: * 1st round bye * Defeated

William Isangura William Isangura (born 25 July 1952) is a Tanzanian boxer. He competed at the 1980 Summer Olympics and the 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an ...

(Tanzania) RSC 2 * Defeated Robert Wells (Great Britain) RSC 3 * Lost to

(United States) 1-4

Professional career

Damiani began his professional career on a tear, with 27 consecutive victories over limited opposition. He defeated Tyrell Biggs in a rematch of their Olympic meeting, stopping him on a cut, and then won the newly created WBO Heavyweight title with a 3rd-round KO victory over

Johnny DuPlooy Johnny du Plooy (27 September 1964 – 12 April 2013) was a former South African heavyweight boxer best known for his win over former WBA World Heavyweight champion Mike Weaver. He challenged once for the WBO World Heavyweight title in 1989. B ...

on 6 May 1989. Damiani hit a brick wall when he took on 1988 Olympic Gold Medalist Ray Mercer in 1991 in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

. Damiani was ahead on points but went down after a Mercer left uppercut broke his nose, and he was counted out by the referee in the 9th round. In 1991, he had been chosen to face

Evander Holyfield Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the Undisputed championship (boxing), undisputed champion at cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight in the late 1 ...

for the undisputed heavyweight championship, but an injury prevented him from getting into the ring. Damiani would come back in 1992 to take a decision over former champion Greg Page, but quit in the 8th round of the following bout versus

Oliver McCall Oliver McCall (born April 21, 1965) is an American former professional boxer. A veteran of the sport for over three decades, he is best known for winning the WBC heavyweight title in 1994 by scoring an upset knockout victory over Lennox Lewis. ...

in 1993, ending his career. In 1993 former mobster

Sammy Gravano Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano (born March 12, 1945) is an American former mobster who became underboss of the Gambino crime family. Gravano played a major role in prosecuting John Gotti, the crime family's boss, by agreeing to testify as a ...

testified under oath that in the late 80s he attempted to arrange a fixed fight between Damiani, who Gravano alleged was associated with an organized crime family in Italy, and Renaldo Snipes."Crime Figure Testifies on Boxing Involvement"
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

''. Brubaker, Bill. April 2, 1993. Although Damiani lost his next fight to Ray Mercer and that put him out of the picture for a major fight.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Damiani, Francesco 1958 births Living people Sportspeople from the Province of Ravenna Olympic boxers of Italy Boxers at the 1980 Summer Olympics Boxers at the 1984 Summer Olympics World heavyweight boxing champions World Boxing Organization champions Olympic silver medalists for Italy Olympic medalists in boxing European Boxing Union champions Italian male boxers AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Super-heavyweight boxers Mediterranean Games bronze medalists for Italy Competitors at the 1979 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in boxing