Francesco Damiani Italian professional boxer Date of Birth: 08.10.1958 Country: Italy

1. Early Life and Amateur Career
2. Olympic Silver and Professional Debut
3. Championship Reign
4. Post-Boxing Career

Early Life and Amateur Career

Francesco Damiani, born on October 4, 1958, in Bagnacavallo, Italy, began boxing at the age of 16. Despite his late start, Damiani's natural talent quickly propelled him to success. In 1978, at the age of 19, he became Italian champion, a title he would hold multiple times. In 1979, he joined the Italian national team and a year later represented his country at the Moscow Olympics.

At his first major international event, Damiani suffered a quarterfinals defeat to Soviet boxer Petr Zaev. However, he rebounded the following year at the European Championships in Tampere, Finland, where he defeated Soviet heavyweight Vyacheslav Yakovlev for the gold medal.

In 1982, Damiani entered the World Championships in Munich as an underdog. In a legendary quarterfinal, he outboxed the legendary Teófilo Stevenson, using his superior strength and power to negate Stevenson's reach advantage. Damiani ultimately lost to American Tyrell Biggs in the semifinals but bounced back with a bronze medal.

Olympic Silver and Professional Debut

Damiani's greatest amateur achievement came at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, where he once again faced Biggs in the final. Despite a valiant effort, Damiani settled for the silver medal.

In 1985, Damiani turned professional, debuting with a third-round knockout of Aloé Gobeo. He fought primarily in Italy, gradually rising through the ranks. Under the guidance of his legendary manager, Umberto Branchini, Damiani won the WBC International title by defeating Eddie Gregg.

Championship Reign

In October 1988, the long-awaited rematch with Biggs took place. Damiani dominated the bout, forcing Biggs' corner to stop the fight in the fifth round due to a cut.

The following year, Damiani became WBO heavyweight champion by defeating Johnny DuPlooy. He successfully defended his title against Daniel Eduardo Neto before losing to Ray Mercer in a controversial ninth-round stoppage in 1991 due to a broken nose.

Post-Boxing Career

After his retirement from boxing in 1993, Damiani lent his expertise to the Italian national amateur boxing team, first as an assistant coach from 2002 to 2006. In 2006, he succeeded the legendary Nazareno Mela as head coach, leading the team to significant success.

Under Damiani's tutelage, Italy won two gold medals at the 2007 World Championships in Chicago, three medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and two gold medals at the 2009 World Championships in Milan.