Roberto Cammarelle is the most successful Italian super heavyweight boxer of all time and the only Italian boxer to have won three medals in three different Olympic Games. Born in Cinisello Balsamo, Milan, the 44-year-old clinched gold in the super heavyweight category at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, silver in London 2012, and bronze in Athens 2004. After serving as the team manager of the national boxing team, he is now the technical director of the Fiamme Oro sports group and lives in Assisi with his wife Nicoletta. He proudly states, “I come from the south, was born in the north, and live in the center, so I represent all of Italy.” Truly perfect.
Beijing 2008:
Italy hadn’t won a gold medal in boxing for twenty years, since Giovanni Parisi’s success. “I had envisioned that victory for a long time, but reality surpassed my imagination. I wanted to win decisively on points, and before knocking out Zhang Zhilei, I was clearly ahead. Defeating a Chinese boxer in China was a dream. That’s when I realized I had made history, that I was someone who made it.”
Before Beijing, there was Athens:
“It was my first Olympics, and it was an intense experience. I was coming off the disappointment of missing the Sydney Olympics and a herniated disc surgery the year before. But I wasn’t mature yet and was defeated in the semifinals by Russian Aleksandr Povetkin, who was the best boxer in the world at that time.”
And finally, the third podium in London 2012:
“I was 32 years old and had been sidelined a month earlier due to back issues. I had only 25 days of training and wasn’t in top form.”
How did he get into boxing?
“I started boxing because I was a bit chubby and needed to lose weight. I also played soccer with the Cinisello team, and the coach promised me a trial with Juventus to keep me in the team. I replied, ‘Are you crazy? I don’t want to leave home.’ But with boxing, I left home and never went back.”
What was the “Rocky Marciano” gym in Cinisello like?
“When I started, there were only a few kids, including my brother Antonio, who just wanted to have fun. They all quit except for me. The gym became my home, and Biagio Pierri became my coach. He was the one who built the boxer I was.”
Would he recommend boxing to his three children?
“I recommended it to all three of them, but none of them want to do it. The first two prefer soccer, and the youngest, who is eight, gave me a half-promise. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.”
Is Milan still connected to boxing?
“The boxing scene in Milan no longer exists. The greatest boxer of the last 40 years was Giovanni Parisi, then came myself and Giacobbe Fragomeni, and that was it.”
Do young people still want to box?
“We have potential champions who don’t emerge due to a lack of hunger. We need to work on this mentality.”
Amateur by choice. Regrets?
“I’m glad I didn’t turn professional because professional boxing in Italy doesn’t exist. During my prime, the only way to turn ‘pro’ was to go abroad.”