Francesco Damiani
Encyclopedia
Francesco Damiani (born October 4, 1958 in Bagnacavallo
) is an Italian
former boxer
who won the silver medal at the 1982 World Championships and at the 1984 Summer Olympics. As a professional, he was the first WBO heavyweight champion.
in Moscow, where he lost to the eventual silver medalist Piotr Zaev
in the quarter-finals. The following year he won the European Amateur Championships in Tampere. At the 1982 World Amateur Boxing Championships
in Munich, he beat the legendary Teofilo Stevenson
but lost to Tyrell Biggs
in the final. In 1983 in Varna he became European champion for the second time, beating Ulli Kaden
. At the 1984 Summer Olympics
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
, who was commentating for the BBC
sport Olympic coverage, to say that "..it the worst boxing decision in all my years of boxing commentating".
1984
on May 6, 1989. Damiani hit a brick wall when he took on 1988 Olympic Gold Medalist Ray Mercer
in 1991 in Atlantic City, NJ. 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.
Damiani would come back in 1992 to take a decision over former champion Greg Page
, but was KO'd in the following bout in 1993 by Oliver McCall
, ending his career.
|align="center" colspan=8|30 Wins (24 knockouts, 6 decisions), 2 Losses (2 knockouts, 0 decision), 0 Draws http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=3748&cat=boxer
|-
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Result
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Record
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Opponent
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Type
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Round
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Date
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Location
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Notes
|-align=center
|Loss
|30–2
|align=left|
Oliver McCall
|TKO
|8
|23/04/1993
|align=left| The Pyramid
, Memphis
, Tennessee
, United States
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win
|30–1
|align=left| Greg Page
|UD
|10
|21/09/1992
|align=left| Thomas & Mack Center
, Las Vegas
, Nevada
, United States
|align=left|
|-align=center
|-align=center
|Win
|29–1
|align=left| Michael Greer
|KO
|1
|22/04/1992
|align=left| Meadowlands Arena, East Rutherford
, New Jersey
, United States
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win
|28–1
|align=left| Frankie Swindell
|PTS
|8
|07/03/1992
|align=left|
Fano
, Marche
, Italy
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Loss
|27–1
|align=left| Ray Mercer
|KO
|9
|11/01/1991
|align=left| Taj Majal Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City
, New Jersey
, United States
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win
|27–0
|align=left| Everett Martin
|KO
|2
|20/10/1990
|align=left| Palazzo Dello Sport
, Cesena
, Emilia Romagna
, Italy
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win
|26–0
|align=left|
Tony Morrison
|KO
|3
|02/06/1990
|align=left| Salice Terme, Cesena
, Lombardia, Italy
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win
|25–0
|align=left|
Daniel Eduardo Neto
|TKO
|2
|16/12/1989
|align=left| Palazzo Dello Sport
, Cesena
, Emilia Romagna
, Italy
|align=left|
|-align=center
Bagnacavallo
Bagnacavallo is a town and comune in the province of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. .The Renaissance painter Bartolommeo Ramenghi bore the nickname of his native city.- Main sights:*Castellaccio * Giardino dei Semplici...
) is an Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
former boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
who won the silver medal at the 1982 World Championships and at the 1984 Summer Olympics. As a professional, he was the first WBO heavyweight champion.
Amateur
He participated at 1980 Summer OlympicsBoxing at the 1980 Summer Olympics
Boxing at the 1980 Summer Olympics took place in the Indoor Stadium of the Olympiski Sports Complex in Moscow. The boxing schedule began on 20 July and ended on 2 August...
in Moscow, where he lost to the eventual silver medalist Piotr Zaev
Piotr Zaev
Pyotr Ivanovich Zayev is a former boxer, who won the silver medal for the USSR in the Heavyweight division at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. In the final he was defeated by titleholder Teófilo Stevenson of Cuba...
in the quarter-finals. The following year he won the European Amateur Championships in Tampere. At the 1982 World Amateur Boxing Championships
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 governing body for amateur boxing AIBA.- Medal winners...
in Munich, he beat the legendary Teofilo Stevenson
Teófilo Stevenson
Teófilo Stevenson Lawrence or Teófilo Stevenson is a former Cuban amateur boxer. He is one of the only three boxers to win three Olympic gold medals, alongside Hungarian László Papp and fellow Cuban Félix Savón....
but lost to Tyrell Biggs
Tyrell Biggs
Tyrell Biggs , is an American heavyweight boxer. He won the gold medal at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, CA in boxing at the Superheavyweight division, after gaining bronze the previous year at the 1983 Pan American Games....
in the final. In 1983 in Varna he became European champion for the second time, beating Ulli Kaden
Ulli Kaden
Ulli Kaden is a former East German amateur boxer best known to win the European title 1987 and 1989 at super heavyweight.-Career:Kaden was 1980 to 1988 nine times champion of East Germany....
. At the 1984 Summer Olympics
Boxing at the 1984 Summer Olympics
Boxing at the 1984 Summer Olympics took place in the Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California. The boxing schedule began on July 29 and ended on August 11. Twelve men's boxing events were contested.-Light Flyweight :...
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 Carpenter
Harry Leonard Carpenter OBE was a British BBC sports commentator broadcasting from the early 1950s until his retirement in 1994. His speciality was boxing...
, who was commentating for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
sport Olympic coverage, to say that "..it the worst boxing decision in all my years of boxing commentating".
Olympic results
1980- Defeated Teodor Pîrjol (Romania) 4-1
- Lost to Piotr ZaevPiotr ZaevPyotr Ivanovich Zayev is a former boxer, who won the silver medal for the USSR in the Heavyweight division at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. In the final he was defeated by titleholder Teófilo Stevenson of Cuba...
(Soviet Union) 0-5
1984
- 1st round bye
- Defeated Willie Isangura (Tanzania) RSC 2
- Defeated Robert WellsRobert Wells (boxer)Robert Wells is a former British boxer, who won the Super Heavyweight bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics....
(Great Britain) RSC 3 - Lost to Tyrell BiggsTyrell BiggsTyrell Biggs , is an American heavyweight boxer. He won the gold medal at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, CA in boxing at the Superheavyweight division, after gaining bronze the previous year at the 1983 Pan American Games....
(United States) 1-4
Professional
Damiani began his pro 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 DuPlooyJohnny DuPlooy
- Boxing career :The tall 6`3 South African boxer started his career in 1985 and beat 17 opponents. He then was stopped cold after losing to ex-champ Mike Weaver by 7th round KO...
on May 6, 1989. Damiani hit a brick wall when he took on 1988 Olympic Gold Medalist Ray Mercer
Ray Mercer
"Merciless" Ray Mercer is an American professional boxer, former Olympic Gold Medalist and WBO heavyweight title holder who resides in Fayetteville, North Carolina...
in 1991 in Atlantic City, NJ. 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.
Damiani would come back in 1992 to take a decision over former champion Greg Page
Greg Page (boxer)
Greg Page was a boxer from Louisville, Kentucky. He was the World Boxing Association Heavyweight Champion from 1984 to 1985...
, but was KO'd in the following bout in 1993 by Oliver McCall
Oliver McCall
Oliver "The Atomic Bull" McCall is an American professional Heavyweight boxer best known for winning the WBC Heavyweight Championship in 1994 after scoring an upset knock out victory over Lennox Lewis, in Lewis' home town of London, England, followed by his infamous in-ring meltdown in the rematch...
, ending his career.
Professional boxing record
|-|align="center" colspan=8|30 Wins (24 knockouts, 6 decisions), 2 Losses (2 knockouts, 0 decision), 0 Draws http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=3748&cat=boxer
|-
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Result
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Record
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Opponent
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Type
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Round
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Date
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Location
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Notes
|-align=center
|Loss
|30–2
|align=left|
Oliver McCallOliver McCall
Oliver "The Atomic Bull" McCall is an American professional Heavyweight boxer best known for winning the WBC Heavyweight Championship in 1994 after scoring an upset knock out victory over Lennox Lewis, in Lewis' home town of London, England, followed by his infamous in-ring meltdown in the rematch...
|TKO
|8
|23/04/1993
|align=left|
The PyramidPyramid Arena
The Pyramid Arena is a 20,142-seat arena located in downtown Memphis at the banks of the Mississippi River. The facility was built in 1991 and was originally owned and operated jointly by the city of Memphis and Shelby County. Its unique structure plays on the city's namesake in Egypt, known for...
, Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win
|30–1
|align=left|
Greg PageGreg Page (boxer)
Greg Page was a boxer from Louisville, Kentucky. He was the World Boxing Association Heavyweight Champion from 1984 to 1985...
|UD
|10
|21/09/1992
|align=left|
Thomas & Mack CenterThomas & Mack Center
The Thomas & Mack Center is an arena, located on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. For ring events, the capacity is 19,522, for basketball, the capacity is 18,776.-History:...
, Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|align=left|
|-align=center
|-align=center
|Win
|29–1
|align=left|
Michael Greer|KO
|1
|22/04/1992
|align=left|
Meadowlands Arena, East RutherfordEast Rutherford, New Jersey
East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 8,913. It is an inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan....
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win
|28–1
|align=left|
Frankie Swindell|PTS
|8
|07/03/1992
|align=left|
FanoFano
Fano is a town and comune of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy. It is a beach resort 12 km southeast of Pesaro, located where the Via Flaminia reaches the Adriatic Sea...
, Marche
Marche
The population density in the region is below the national average. In 2008, it was 161.5 inhabitants per km2, compared to the national figure of 198.8. It is highest in the province of Ancona , and lowest in the province of Macerata...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Loss
|27–1
|align=left|
Ray MercerRay Mercer
"Merciless" Ray Mercer is an American professional boxer, former Olympic Gold Medalist and WBO heavyweight title holder who resides in Fayetteville, North Carolina...
|KO
|9
|11/01/1991
|align=left|
Taj Majal Hotel & Casino, Atlantic CityAtlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win
|27–0
|align=left|
Everett MartinEverett Martin
Everett Wayne Martin , also known as Bigfoot Martin is a former professional boxer. He is a journeyman heavyweight best known for his performances against more notable contenders.-Pro Boxing Career:...
|KO
|2
|20/10/1990
|align=left|
Palazzo Dello SportPalaLottomatica
PalaLottomatica, formerly known as Palazzo dello Sport or PalaEUR, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena in Rome, Italy. It is located in the heart of the well known modern EUR complex. The arena hosted the 1960 Olympic basketball tournamentsThe stadium features 8 meetings points, a...
, Cesena
Cesena
Cesena is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, south of Ravenna and west of Rimini, on the Savio River, co-chief of the Province of Forlì-Cesena. It is at the foot of the Apennines, and about 15 km from the Adriatic Sea.-History:Cesena was originally an Umbrian...
, Emilia Romagna
Emilia-Romagna
Emilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million inhabitants....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win
|26–0
|align=left|
Tony Morrison|KO
|3
|02/06/1990
|align=left|
Salice Terme, CesenaCesena
Cesena is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, south of Ravenna and west of Rimini, on the Savio River, co-chief of the Province of Forlì-Cesena. It is at the foot of the Apennines, and about 15 km from the Adriatic Sea.-History:Cesena was originally an Umbrian...
, Lombardia, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win
|25–0
|align=left|
Daniel Eduardo Neto|TKO
|2
|16/12/1989
|align=left|
Palazzo Dello SportPalaLottomatica
PalaLottomatica, formerly known as Palazzo dello Sport or PalaEUR, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena in Rome, Italy. It is located in the heart of the well known modern EUR complex. The arena hosted the 1960 Olympic basketball tournamentsThe stadium features 8 meetings points, a...
, Cesena
Cesena
Cesena is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, south of Ravenna and west of Rimini, on the Savio River, co-chief of the Province of Forlì-Cesena. It is at the foot of the Apennines, and about 15 km from the Adriatic Sea.-History:Cesena was originally an Umbrian...
, Emilia Romagna
Emilia-Romagna
Emilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million inhabitants....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
|align=left|
|-align=center