Francesco Damiani

Francesco Damiani
Data
Birth Name	Francesco Damiani
Weight class	Heavyweight
nationality	Italian
birthday	4th October 1958
place of birth	Bagnacavallo
style	Left delivery
size	1.90 m
Combat Statistics
Struggles	32
Victories	30th
Knockout victories	24
Defeats	2
Profile in the BoxRec database

Francesco Damiani (born October 4, 1958 in Bagnacavallo , Italy ) is a former Italian heavyweight boxer and was the first WBO heavyweight champion.

amateur

Damiani was Italian champion in 1978, 1979 and 1980.

In 1979 he took part in the Mediterranean Games and took third place. The following year Damiani took part in the Olympic Games for the first time and retired after defeating Teodor Pirjol, Romania (4: 1), in the quarter-finals against Pyotr Sajew , Soviet Union (0: 5).

In 1981 Damiani became European champion . a. in the semifinals Ulli Kaden , GDR (5: 0), and in the final Vyacheslav Yakovlev, Soviet Union (5: 0), beat. At the 1982 World Championships in Munich , the Italian took second place after a final defeat against Tyrell Biggs , USA (1: 4), but beat Teófilo Stevenson , Cuba (5: 0) in the quarterfinals .

At the European Championships in 1983 Damiani defended his title from 1981, where he won the final against Ulli Kaden, GDR, without a fight.

In 1984 Damiani took part in the Olympic Games for the second time and won the silver medal. He lost again in the final against Tyrell Biggs on points.

Professional career

After the Olympic Games, Damiani switched to professional boxers and made his professional debut on January 5, 1985. In his 19th fight he won the European title by knockout in the sixth round against the Swede Anders Eklund . On October 29, 1988, he met Tyrell Biggs . He won by technical knockout in round five, as the fight was abandoned due to a laceration over Biggs' right eye.

On June 5, 1988, Francesco Damiani was the first heavyweight world champion of the newly founded WBO association by a knockout victory in the third round over the South African Johnny DuPlooy.

At that time, however, the WBO title still had little reputation. The undisputed world heavyweight champion was Mike Tyson , who held the WBA , WBC and IBF belts at the time.

In his second title defense on January 11, 1991 Damiani lost the belt to Ray Mercer . The Italian went down in the ninth round after an uppercut that broke his nose and was counted.

On April 23, 1993 Damiani faced Oliver McCall and lost by technical knockout in the eighth round. He then resigned from boxing.

Web links

• Francesco Damiani in the BoxRec database

predecessor	Office	successor
-	Heavyweight Boxing Champion ( WBO ) May 6, 1989 - January 11, 1991	Ray Mercer