Articles of 2005
Francesco Damiani, the Best Italian Heavyweight since Primo Carnera

Francesco Damiani was one of the few Italian heavyweights to make a big impression abroad. Between 1985 and 1993, he fought 32 professional bouts compiling a record of 30 wins (24 KOs) and just 2 losses. He became European, WBC International and WBO world champion, defeating many respected boxers along the way: Eddie Gregg (KOed during the first round), James Broad (on points), Anders Eklund (sixth round KO), Tyrell Biggs (TKO in five rounds), Johnny DuPlooy (third round KO) and Greg Page (unanimous decision after ten rounds). Damianiâs losses came against Ray Mercer and Oliver McCall, two guys who werenât so well-known back then, but later built excellent careers. Francesco also won the silver medal as a super heavyweight in the 1984 Olympics, losing to Tyrell Biggs in the final. Some American boxing people told me that Francesco could have made it big in the United States, given the constant lack of competitive white heavyweights, and considering the importance of being Italian in such major markets as New York and New Jersey. Even though Damiani fought in Atlantic City (three times), Totowa and East Rutheford (NJ), Las Vegas (NV) and Memphis (TN), he choose to live in Italy. Letâs discover why.
Francesco, why you didnât move to America?
Because my manager Umberto Branchini decided not to make that move. I left those decisions to him. I considered him the greatest Italian manager of all times. In fact, he is one of the few Italians inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. After winning the Olympic silver medal in Los Angeles, he said I had to aim straight to the top. Thatâs part of the reason why he decided to put me only against foreign opponents, he wanted me to gain professional experience fast and be known outside of our country. Iâm probably the only Italian boxer who never fought another Italian. Umberto also wanted me to make a lot of money and he was successful in that. I never had to work from Monday to Friday; boxing was my only job. I can legitimately say that I had a great career, financially.
Letâs talk about your opponents. Who was the toughest?
James Broad. He had a record of 20 wins and 3 losses, had won the NABF title and was very respected. Besides, our fight was an eliminator for the IBF title and that added pressure on me. I knew he was tough, but not that tough. I can say the opposite about Greg Page. He had a big reputation because was a former WBA champion, but I won easily: 95-93 on all scorecards. He boxed dirty (and was deducted points), but his punches never hurt me.
What about Tyrell Biggs?
He beat me in the Olympic final, and other times before that. As we say in Italy, he was the black sheep of my amateur career. When I fought him professionally, I was determined to win big and I did it in five rounds: the bout was stopped because of a cut over Biggsâ right eye. You know, in the Olympic quarterfinal Tyrell defeated Lennox Lewis, who a few years later gave him a serious beating (third round TKO) as a pro. I think Biggs had a great technique, but was too much of a nice guy to be successful in American professional rings. He wouldnât have hurt a fly.
When you KOed Johnny DuPlooy for the WBO title, many journalists didnât consider you a legitimate world champion because that organization was new at the time. Did you feel disrespected?
No, because I didnât care about what my detractors wrote. I knew that Johnny DuPlooy was a respected boxer (his record was 22-2-1) and that my KO win helped me be recognized as a power-puncher. Besides, I had been European champion and wanted a world title. The WBO offered me the opportunity to be its first champion and I accepted. Today, everybody considers the WBO a major organization and that makes my title a legitimate one. In my opinion, the boxers count more than any title. If two bums fight for the WBC crown, the winner cannot consider himself a world champion. If two top-rated heavyweights fight for the belt of a minor sanctioning body, that title becomes meaningful.
Why did you never face Mike Tyson?
Because my manager didnât reach an agreement with Mike Tysonâs manager. Umberto told me that Don King offered us $500,000. It was a ridiculous amount of money for a big fight, especially compared to the purses Tyson was receiving back then (over $20,000,000). Besides, if I won I would become a Don Kingâs fighter and that wasnât good for me.
You dominated Ray Mercer, before being knocked out. What really happened?
It just happened that he got me with a lucky punch to the nose that made the blood flow into my throat. I couldnât breath and the 10-count was over before I could figure out what to do. I never experienced anything like that in my career. Thinking about it now, I could have kept going until the end of the round, and during the break my trainer would have told me how to recover. I dominated for eight rounds (the scores were 79-73, 79-74 and 78-74). Iâm sure I would have dominated the rest of the fight. You know, these things happen in boxing.
What about your loss to Oliver McCall?
I wasnât motivated anymore, so I didnât train properly. If I had been just at 60%, I would have won easily. In fact, after that loss, I retired.
What are you doing now?
Iâm one of the coaches of the Italian amateur team. To become a legitimate coach, I had to pay my dues like anybody else. In Italy, it doesnât matter if you have been a champion, you must learn the proper way to coach attending the seminars organized by the national boxing commission (FPI). The first step is attending a seminar in the region where you live: itâs two full days for four consecutive week-ends; at the end you must pass a test to become a prospect. The second step is working two years with a certified coach. The third step is going to the commissionâs main training center in Santa Maria degli Angeli (central Italy) and live there for one week to attend another seminar where you receive high-level instruction. If you pass the final test, you become a legitimate coach. Iâm proud to have made it as a coach and Iâm really enjoying this new experience.
Francesco Damiani
Born: October 4, 1958 in Bagnacavallo, a town in the Emilia Romagna region of Central Italy
Division: Heavyweight
Height: 190 cm
Stance: Orthodox
Manager: Umberto Branchini
Trainer: Elio Ghelfi
Record: 30 wins (22 KOs) and 2 losses
Titles: WBC international champion (1987), European champion (1987-1988), WBO world champion (1989-1991)
Articles of 2005
In Boxing News: Floyd Mayweather An All-Time Great, Valuev & More

A Shot of Boxing on the Last Day of the Year
The Guardian reports that talks have already taken place between Nicolay Valuev‘s co-promoters – Don King and Wilfried Sauerland – and Danny Williams‘ promoter Frank Warren for Nicolay Valuev to face Danny Williams. I’d suggest Danny Williams needs to worry about Matt Skelton (who Williams is reportedly scheduled to fight in February) before he entertains notions of facing the Beast From The East.
The Mirror in the UK looks forward to a big year in boxing for 2006. The Mirror considers what the future might bring for Joe Calzaghe, Amir Khan and Ricky Hatton, among others.
The Parksville Qualicum News has an interesting column on the travails of former Canadian Super Middleweight title holder Mark Woolnough. Woolnough’s career turned controversial – as widely reported in the Canadian press – at the beginning of this year when Woolnough and four other men were charged with manslaughter and assault after a fight outside a Parksville nightclub. The case returns to court next month. It’s an interesting read, as Woolnough is still looking to the future with hope.
Our own Marc Lichtenfeld provides plenty of food for thought with his Top Ten Wish List for boxing in the New Year. There’s plenty of good stuff here, but what really jumped out for me is Lichtenfeld’s opinion that a win over Zab Judah could have Floyd Mayweather knocking on the door of all-time great status. Seems to me this might be jumping the gun a little. Or is Marc right? Will it soon be time to call Floyd Mayweather Jr. an all-time great?
(More Boxing News Links at TheSweetScience.com)
Articles of 2005
Pick âEm: Plenty of Big Upcoming Fights in â06

Hereâs the early call on many top matches scheduled for the first half of 2006: Happy New Year!
As the new calendar dawns, there are already a considerable amount of premium bouts on the horizon. Things donât look to be bogged down by undetermined championships next year. In many cases the scheduled face-offs involve the best fighters in the division, or at least close enough for general bragging rights. If anybody else with proper qualifications signs up to force the issue, all the better.
It can be argued that some pairings could have taken place within a more optimal timeframe, or that some headliners carry distracting baggage, but there are certainly enough heavy hitters on deck. That nobody can deny.
It doesnât matter whether one considers the proverbial glass half empty or half full; thereâs still the same amount of juice in the vessel. Itâs nice to know that even with a high number of cancellations, there will still be plenty of important contenders on tap.
With elite fighters in weight divisions from top to bottom on the agenda, itâs an equivalent to what fans in more mainstream sports expect in a consistent championship format.
Baseball fans can almost always count on a World Series. Some hoops fanatics say too much attention to playoffs distracts unmotivated NBA teams during their regular season. In college, they project Sweet Sixteens. Football fans know thereâs always a Super Bowl ahead to raise advertising dollars and test the USAâs halftime morals.
So too, there is method in boxingâs current madness.
The midnight crystal ball hasnât even been unveiled in Times Square and there are already a number of potential thrillers scheduled. Most feature contrasting personalities that almost guarantee going along for the ride will be worthwhile. Any subsequent drops will probably be cheered.
Don King jumps right out of the auld lang gate with a January 7th Showtime card featuring Zab Judah against Carlos Baldomir and Jean-Marc Mormeck in a cruiserweight unification against OâNeil Bell.
It will be the upset of the year, bar none, if Baldomir can tip the applecart before Judah gets to his scheduled super-showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Meanwhile, Mormeck is emerging and should keep on rolling against Bell, who can expose him if heâs not for real.
The proverbial Big Bang starts with a January 21st rematch of one of the finest fights of â05, when Erik Morales goes against Manny Pacquaio for the second time on HBO pay per view. The fact that Morales was upset by Zahir Raheem after beating Pacquaio was no real loss in box-office luster. Artful Raheem will get a spot on the undercard and hope his patience is rewarded.
Everyone figures Morales and Pacquaio will pick up where they left off. Like the first time, the rematch is a pickâem contest. Management distractions and glove restrictions cited as Pacquaioâs previous problems wonât matter this time. The two are very evenly matched and their styles will make for another whapathon. It could come down to corners, where Freddie Roach gets the edge since Morales will have a new trainer for the first time since replacing his father after the Raheem lesson.
February features four of the gameâs most enduring attractions, in a pair of crucial matchups.
First up, Showtime presents the Jose Luis Castillo – Diego Corrales tiebreaker from El Paso on Feb 4th. This is another pick âem pair, barring any sideshow. In boxing that disclaimer may be a stretch, since the sideshow is part of the act and the charm.
As far as action inside the strands goes, every round these guys have fought has been great. Thereâs no reason to think that pattern wonât continue. Regarding the result, Castillo keeps the pressure on as he did in the second fight, but heâll walk into trouble from a more reserved Corrales. We still donât know which coin to flip.
February also holds a better late than never affair between two perennial favorites as Shane Mosley collides with Fernando Vargas on the 25th. This fight could lead to a winning ticket in the Golden Boy sweepstakes for a fall bonanza against Oscar De La Hoya.
Vargas has been in tougher recently, based on comparable strength of opposition stats, but heâs seen little action. What weight they enter the ring at may have a lot to do with the result. If Vargas has to struggle at the scale, Mosley might have the battle in the bag after round nine.
Itâs hard to imagine Mosley getting stopped early, but Vargas doesnât have to hurt him, he just has to knock him down three times. With natural size, he may be able to do just that, but Mosley would have to box uncharacteristically flat.
Unless Mosley decides to heed the crowd, the most likely scenario is that Shane plays it safe, picks a few shots, and stays away enough to capture a comfortable, dull decision. An unbowed Vargas maintains his fan base but not his bettors.
March both comes in and goes out as a lion.
On March 4th Joe Calzaghe welcomes Jeff Lacy to Manchester UK for what may be the biggest blowout of the headlining bunch. Calzaghe gets the chance to prove his considerable home-based reputation once and for all, but if Lacy creams him as we expect, that glossy record will be severely tarnished.
All Calzaghe has to do is make a respectable stand, but thatâs no small task against the rising Lacy. A motivated Calzaghe, songs of England ringing in his ears, could pull a big surprise if he can exploit Lacyâs relatively limited technical development, but thatâs a longshot indeed.
It looks like Lacy can get by on power alone. He could soon emerge as a pound-for-pound leader. Old Joeâs hometown advantage will last about two left hooks.
March 11th has the Ides of history to beware for at least one old lion, with farewell (weâll see) fireworks featuring Roy Jones Jr. against Bernard Hopkins. Less than two years ago they were considered untouchable all time greats. Now between them theyâve lost five in a row.
This goodbye fight is contracted at light heavyweight, for what seems like an oldies night. Hopkins is the senior at age 41 to Jonesâs 37, but Roy seems more the grandpa figure, last seen hanging on against Antonio Tarver. Youth, as it were here, will prevail.
This bout was signed quickly as each principal, usually sticklers for favorable contract clauses, agreed to parity in a demonstration of businessman first and fighter second. They may both expect easy marks. How much the boys have left by the time they get down to business remains to be seen. The history books will show this as a climactic career bout between Hall of Famers.
At 175 pounds, Hopkins may be in for rude awakening. Jones may have been more thoroughly outfought recently, but he was rumbling with bigger, tougher men than Jermain Taylor or Howard Eastman. Respectable as he is, Taylor still falls short of the level of Tarver, at least for now. The difference is still fifteen pounds less pop.
It will be quite a feat if Hopkins can stay in the fight, even at Jonesâs advanced age. Our stars point to Jones winning in overwhelming fashion.
On March 18th, James Toney meets Hasim Rahman in another pairing of seasoned war-horses.
Toney and Rahman already had their introductions, when they brawled in Mexico during a WBC gathering to bestow Rahmanâs new belt. Between formalities, Toney got married, which could bring up the old questions about carnal training.
Letâs hope when they meet in the ring, they restore some of the fire missing from the heavyweights in â05. Toney might have an edge in recent form, but Rahman shows fine tuning he previously lacked. The winner might get newly âcrownedâ Nicolai Valuev, an easy payday outside Germany.
Rahman could be the heavyweight that finally makes Toney look like a blown up middleweight. But anything less than a top effort will probably lead to embarrassing night for the Rock and give Toney solid claim to being the true heavyweight champ.
This might not be the most artful fight of the new season, but it could well be the most grueling, and the closest. He whoâs faced the better big boys gets the nod. Advantage Rahman.
March 25 features Marco Antonio Barrera, probably the strongest overall claimant to 130 pound honors. The likely opponent is said to be always tough Jesus Chavez.
Chavez seemed rejuvenated when he met Leavander Johnson, but Johnsonâs tragic death may have taken some of the steam out of thoughtful Chavez, said to have received Johnsonâs family blessing to continue in Leavanderâs name. That could mean a lot of inspiration. Either way, if he does meet Chavez, who hung tough with one arm against Erik Morales, Barrera wonât get any slack. The Fates say Chavez, whose wife recently served in Iraq, is a live, live underdog.
Another clash to be King of the Hill finds Floyd Mayweather Jr, arguably the gameâs finest practitioner, bumping heads with Zab Judah, one of very few boxers who rivals Mayweather in speed, skills, and brashness.
Their hoedown, scheduled for April 8th, is one of the top pound-for-pound pairings in recent years. Judah will need a career best performance to have a chance of victory. Thatâs not to say he canât pull it off, but currently Mayweather is in a different galaxy in terms of punching power. Slow-motion replays may be the only way to follow the flying fists once these two whirlwinds unload.
Mayweather should be around a 4-1 favorite. Judah is good enough to make taking the odds an attractive proposition, since thatâs probably as good of odds as one is likely to see on Floyd for a while. Mayweather will stop Judah in his tracks.
The first half of next year is set to conclude with the star power of Oscar De La Hoya, probably against noteworthy foil Ricardo Mayorga on May 6. There could be some snags before a contract is finalized, but if it comes off count on Mayorga for promotional sound bite nastiness. One of the questions is whether or not heâll be able to get under Oscarâs skin, and it might actually be entertaining to see the classy, model perfect De La Hoya show heâs human and freak out against the Nicaraguan maniac.
Mayorga may have burnt his best bridges already. De La Hoya has not only the boxing skill to negate Mayorgaâs offense, but enough power to end it early. If Mayorga rushes in and causes a cut, De La Hoya might get ruffled enough to duck into defense and Mayorga could get a decision that goes to the cards after six rounds or so. It will be wild for as long as it lasts.
Pro boxing, like many sports, had its share of problems during 2005, but there were also many positives. Most notably, as usual, was superior and inspiring action inside the strands. Unless thereâs a mass freeze-up at the top, early 2006 figures to see decisive interaction among many well-known fighters.
If even fifty per cent of the aforementioned pairings come to fruition, itâs a strong likelihood the upcoming year has at least one very positive half. Arturo Gatti, Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito, Brian Viloria, and Shannon Briggs, to name a few, are also on deck. No matter how you chose to look at or measure mass qualities, thereâs still just as much good to be seen.
Articles of 2005
ShoBox Friday Night Fights

Hot bantamweight prospect Raul âThe Cobraâ Martinez heads back to Chicago next Friday night as he is featured in the co-main event of SHOBOX âTHE NEW GENERATION,â an action packed evening of professional boxing presented by Dominic Pesoliâs 8 Count Productions,â HOME OF THE BEST IN CHICAGO BOXING, Kathy Duvaâs Main Events Inc., along with Miller Lite and TCF Bank.
The two-time national amateur champion sporting a perfect 12-0 record with 9 knockouts, six of which have come in the first round, will take on Colombian Andres âAndy Boyâ Ledesma, 13-1 (8 KOs) in a scheduled eight round bout.
Speaking after a training session at his home gym in Georgetown, Texas, Martinez said, âIâm truly looking forward to returning to Chicago. The fans were terrific in September, they were very supportive from the start of the fight,â an internationally televised first round knockout of Miguel Martinez on September 16th at the Aragon Ballroom.
Regarding his upcoming fight with Ledesma, âThe Cobraâ said, âI havenât seen him fight, although I understand heâs fought at higher weights and will be naturally bigger than me. Iâve had great training for this fight and feel very confident. I really havenât left the gym in months, just taking off Sundayâs and even then I get my running in. My thinking is that fights are won in the gym and complete preparation is the key.â
When asked about his being mentioned by Dan Rafael, ESPNâs boxing writer as one of the top prospectâs in the boxing world the 23-year-old San Antonio native said, âItâs a great compliment, but I still have much work to do. I want to be a champion for Main Events like Fernando Vargas and Arturo Gatti. But like Fernando said while he was in town, âbe patient, work hard and your time will come.ââ
Finishing the conversation, Martinez said, âIâm looking forward to starting out this year with a bang. I might have a couple less fights than the seven I had in 2005, but Iâm looking to stepping up the competition, move up to ten-rounders and climb in the rankings.â
Headlining the evening is a ten-round welterweight showdown between boxingâs hottest prospect, unbeaten Joel Julio of Monteria, Columbia, and Ugandan native Roberto âThe Doctorâ Kamya. Julio, turning 21 years old the day before the fight, is 25-0 with 22 knockouts, twelve of which have come in the first two rounds. Kamya, now fighting out of West Palm Beach, Florida is 15-5 with four knockouts.
Tickets, starting at $30, are on sale in advance by calling 312-226-5800. Cicero Stadium is located at 1909 S. Laramie, at the corner of 19th and Laramie, just ten minutes south of the Eisenhower Expressway and ten minutes north of the Stevenson Expressway. Doors for this evening will open at 6pm with the first bell at 7pm.
The full bout lineup for the evening is:
Joel Julio vs. Roberto Kamya, ten rounds, welterweights
Raul Martinez vs. Andres Ledesma, eight rounds, bantamweights
Miguel Hernandez vs. Butch Hajicek, eight rounds, middleweights
David Pareja vs. Derek Andrews, eight rounds, light heavyweights
Mike Gonzales vs. Tony Kinney, four rounds, lightweights
Omar Reyes vs. Luis Navarro, five rounds, featherweights
Reynaldo Reyes vs. Ricardo Swift, four rounds, middleweights
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