Getting to Know Italy’s Rising Heavyweight Prospect Guido Vianello

As a young boy growing up in Italy, Guido Vianello’s first sport was tennis. His parents own and manage one of Rome’s leading tennis academies. But Vianello, who would have looked out- of-place on a tennis court in his size-15 shoes, found his niche in boxing. He’s now a professional competing under the Top Rank banner after representing Italy in the 2016 Rio Olympics.

In his last fight, Vianello, who grew to be six-foot-six, obliterated his opponent in the opening round. Actually, his opponent survived the opening round but was deemed unfit to continue after the break and the win went into the books as a stoppage at the 0:02 mark of round two. It advanced Vianello’s record to 8-0-1 (8 KOs) and was a nice bounce-back after his momentum was arrested in his previous bout, a 6-round draw with awkwardly effective Kingsley Ibeh.

Vianello trained under Abel Sanchez at Sanchez’s Big Bear compound when he was just starting out as a pro. He later switched to Kevin Barry, the Las Vegas transplant from New Zealand best known for his work with heavyweights David Tua and Joseph Parker. For his last fight, he reconnected with his amateur coach Simone D’alessandri. “I decided it was important to have an Italian voice in my corner,” he says, noting that it made it easier to digest what was being said to him.

This isn’t to suggest that Vianello has limited command of the English language. He’s fluent, having first absorbed the language by reading children’s books in English like Peter Pan. “Now I can read books for adults,” he says proudly.

When Vianello took up boxing, he had no knowledge of the history of the sport. The name Rocky Marciano meant nothing to him. “The only boxer I knew,” he says bemusedly, “was Rocky Balboa.” Another movie, this with characters based on historical figures, has shaped Vianello’s ring persona. The spiked helmet that he has worn on his ring walks is a replica of the type worn by Russell Crowe in his Oscar-winning turn as General Maximus in the 2000 movie Gladiator.

In Italy, most Olympic-caliber athletes are policemen, fire fighters, or members of the Armed Forces, which is to say that they are channeled into one of these bodies, each of which has a sports affiliate. Guido Vianello was a policeman in Rome, but not a conventional policeman. The salary he received, although commensurate with his peers, was of the nature of a stipend that allowed him to concentrate on his sport. He was never a uniformed officer out in the trenches carrying a handgun.

As an amateur, Vianello followed on the heels of three-time Olympic medalist (bronze in 2004, gold in 2008, silver in 2012) Roberto Cammarelle, Italy’s greatest modern boxer. To get to Rio, Guido had to win a qualifying tournament in Azerbaijan, and it was source of great pride to him that he succeeded, ensuring an uninterrupted run of Italian Olympians in the super heavyweight class. (Plagued by back problems, Cammarelle never turned pro.)

Turning pro dictated that Vianello quit his job with the police force. Coming to America to launch his pro career came with unforeseen complications. Owing to the pandemic, Italy was closed to international travelers between March 2020 and May 2021. Vianello was effectively trapped here.

Big Bear Lake, California, is situated in the San Bernardino National Forest. “It’s a beautiful area, but it can be a very lonely place,” says Vianello’s friend and nutritionist Antonello Zito who owns a restaurant in the Big Bear community of Lake Arrowhead.

Was Vianello homesick? “I missed Italy,” he acknowledges, “not just the food, but the lifestyle; everything. The people in Italy aren’t as rushed as the people in the United States; they are more laid-back.”

For relaxation, Vianello plays the piano. When time allows, he takes classes at Luiss University in Rome where he will eventually earn a degree in political science. As for what awaits him when he leaves boxing, he allows that he will have many options, perhaps even a career as a screen actor. That’s been a familiar landing spot for many of Italy’s most well-known boxers. The great Nino Benvenuti had a successful post-boxing career in film. The great American boxer Marvin Hagler scored several meaty roles in Italian adventure movies during the days when he resided in Milan.

Vianello hasn’t fought since bombing out his last opponent in June of last year. Torn ligaments in his left hand dictated a respite. He’s slated to return to the ring on July 23 on a Top Rank show in Hinckley, Minnesota against an as-yet unnamed opponent.  d.

This reporter caught up with Vianello yesterday (Wednesday, July 6) at the Top Rank gym in the morning and later that day at Bones Adams gym where he sparred nine hard rounds, the first six with rugged Jonnie Rice. His surgically repaired hand, he says, is stronger than ever.

The next generation of heavyweights, which includes the likes of Joe Joyce, Daniel Dubois, Filip Hrgovic, Makhmoud Arslanbek, Bakhodir Jalolov, and Viktor Vykhryst (aka Viktor Faust) is very deep. It’s an impressive international cast and at age 27 the personable Vianello is younger than all but Dubois and Anderson.

We suspect he will go far. Stay tuned.

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