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Patrizio Oliva

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Patrizio Oliva
File:Patrizio Oliva 1996 stamp of Nicaragua.jpg
Born
Patrizio Oliva

(1959-01-28) 28 January 1959 (age 65)
Naples, Italy[1]
NationalityItalian
Statistics
Weight(s)Welterweight
Height1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights59
Wins57
Wins by KO20
Losses2
Draws0
No contests0
Medal record
Men's amateur boxing
Representing  Italy
Olympics
Gold medal – first place 1980 Moscow Light Welterweight
European Championships
Silver medal – second place 1979 Cologne Light Welterweight
Mediterranean Games
Bronze medal – third place 1979 Split Light Welterweight

Patrizio Oliva (born 28 January 1959) is an Italian former professional boxer, who won the gold medal in the light welterweight division at the 1980 Moscow Olympics as an amateur and the WBA light welterweight title as a professional.[2]

Early life

Patrizio is one of seven brothers born to Rocco and Catena Oliva.[3]

Oliva was introduced to boxing through his father Rocco and his brother Mario's passion for the sport.[4] One of his brothers, Ciro, died and Oliva dedicated a number of his fights to the memory of Ciro and also named his first son after him.[3]

Amateur career

Oliva had a successful amateur career and won 93 of his 96 fights winning the Italian, European and Olympic titles.[5]

At international level Oliva won the 1978 European Junior Championships in Dublin, Ireland and silver medal at the 1979 European Senior Championships in Cologne, West Germany. Oliva was beaten by Russian boxer Serik Konakbayev in the final of the Cologne championship and stated that his fight against Konakbaev was the hardest of his career. The following year he represented his country and boxed at the Olympic Games for Italy and would again face Konakbaev.[5]

1980 Olympics

Following two years of winning European title Oliva competed in the blue vest of Italy at the 1980 Summer Olympics, which were held in Moscow, USSR.

Oliva competed in the Light Welterweight (– 63.5 kg) division. He defeated Beninese Aurelien Agnan in his first contest after referee stopped contest in first round. In his second contest he stopped Syrian Farez Halabi in the third round and beat Yugoslavian Ace Rusevski in the quarter final. In the semi final Oliva faced British boxer Tony Willis. This fight went the full three round distance and Oliva was once again victorious after all five judges gave him the decision.[6]

On 2 August 1980, Oliva once again met his opponent from the final of the 1979 European championships, Serik Konakbaev, in the final of the Olympics. This time Oliva reversed the result by beating Konakbaev in front of his home crowd to take the gold medal and win the Val Barker Trophy for being "Outstanding Boxer" at the 1980 Olympics.[6][5]

Olympic results

Professional career

Debut

Within two months of winning gold at the Moscow Olympics, Oliva turned professional. His first fight was on 11 October 1980 against Italian based Brazilian Nelson Gomes in Naples, Italy. Oliva defeated Gomes on points over six rounds to secure his first victory as a professional.[2]

Early fights

After Oliva's first win in the professional ranks, he then went on a run of victories. From October 1980 to August 1981, Oliva won thirteen straight fights before he fought for his first title belt, the Italian light welterweight title against Giuseppe Russi on 4 November 1981 in Ischia. Oliva handled Russi with ease winning the title with a second round knockout. Oliva followed his first title win by winning a further eleven straight fight between November 1981 and October 1982.[2]

European title

This left Oliva with a record of 25 victories with no losses and earned him a fight against Frenchman Robert Gambini for a chance to win for his first major title, the European light welterweight title. Oliva was again victorious and took the title from Gambini on points over twelve rounds. Gambini retired from boxing after the fight.[2]

Oliva continued his run of career victories by winning his first 48 fights, including a victory over Ubaldo Nestor Sacco in 1986 to capture the WBA light welterweight title. Oliva defended the title four times prior to losing to Juan Martin Coggi by KO in 1987. After a two-year rest, Oliva came back and went on to win his next 9 fights, setting up a shot at WBC welterweight title holder James McGirt in 1992. Oliva lost via unanimous decision, and retired after the bout with a record of 57–2–0.[5]

References

  1. ^ Patrizio Oliva. sports-reference.com
  2. ^ a b c d Boxrec. "Patrizio Oliva". Boxrec Fighter Page. Retrieved 13 October 2006.
  3. ^ a b "Intervista Patrizio Oliva". Olimpiadi.it. Archived from the original on 15 November 2006. Retrieved 5 November 2006.
  4. ^ "I Campioni Olimpici". Olimpiadi.it. Archived from the original on 29 December 2006. Retrieved 5 November 2006.
  5. ^ a b c d Luca De Franco. "Patrizio Oliva, The Only Italian Boxer Who Did It All". thesweetscience.com. Archived from the original on 20 November 2006. Retrieved 31 October 2006.
  6. ^ a b Boxing at the 1980 Moskva Summer Games: Men's Light-Welterweight. sports-reference.com
  7. ^ "Patrizio Oliva". Olympics Database. Archived from the original on 21 February 2007. Retrieved 31 October 2006.
Achievements
Regional boxing titles
Preceded by
Robert Gambini
 European Light Welterweight Champion
5 January 1983 – 1985 		Vacant
Title next held by
Terry Marsh
Preceded by European Welterweight Champion
14 November 1990 – 25 June 1992
Retired 		Vacant
Title next held by
Ludovic Proto
World boxing titles
Preceded by WBA Light Welterweight Champion
15 March 1986 – 4 July 1987 		Succeeded by
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