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The Most Famous

BOXERS from Italy

This page contains a list of the greatest Italian Boxers. The pantheon dataset contains 326 Boxers, 17 of which were born in Italy. This makes Italy the birth place of the 5th most number of Boxers behind Cuba and Russia.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Italian Boxers of all time. This list of famous Italian Boxers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Italian Boxers.

1. Primo Carnera (1906 - 1967)

With an HPI of 57.85, Primo Carnera is the most famous Italian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages on wikipedia.

Primo Carnera (Italian pronunciation: [ˈpriːmo karˈnɛːra]; 26 October 1906 – 29 June 1967), nicknamed the Ambling Alp, was an Italian professional boxer and wrestler who reigned as the boxing World Heavyweight Champion from 29 June 1933 to 14 June 1934. He won more fights by knockout than any other heavyweight champion (IBU, NBA, NYSAC) in boxing history.

2. Piero Toscani (1904 - 1940)

With an HPI of 48.57, Piero Toscani is the 2nd most famous Italian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Piero Toscani (28 July 1904 in Milan – 23 May 1940) was an Italian boxer who won the gold medal in the middleweight class at the 1928 Olympics, after defeating Jan Heřmánek in the final.

3. Carmelo Bossi (1939 - 2014)

With an HPI of 46.88, Carmelo Bossi is the 3rd most famous Italian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Carmelo Bossi (15 October 1939 – 23 March 2014) was an Italian boxer who was the undisputed super welterweight champion of the world. Bossi boxed from 1961 to 1971 and his overall record was 40 wins (10 KOs), 8 defeats and 3 draws.

4. Carlo Orlandi (1910 - 1983)

With an HPI of 46.80, Carlo Orlandi is the 4th most famous Italian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Carlo Orlandi (23 April 1910 – 29 July 1983) was an Italian boxer who won a gold medal at the 1928 Olympics. In 1929 Orlandi turned professional. During the 1930s Orlandi held both the Italian and European lightweight titles. He then won the Italian welterweight title in 1941 and retired in 1944. Orlandi was deaf.

5. Fernando Atzori (1942 - 2020)

With an HPI of 46.74, Fernando Atzori is the 5th most famous Italian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Fernando Atzori (1 June 1942 – 9 November 2020) was an Italian flyweight boxer who won a gold medal at the 1964 Olympics. In the final, he defeated Artur Olech of Poland, despite suffering an eye injury. After the Olympics, he turned professional and won the European title in 1967. Atzori defended it nine times before losing it in 1972. He then regained it and lost again in 1973. Atzori retired from the ring in 1975.

6. Aureliano Bolognesi (1930 - 2018)

With an HPI of 46.57, Aureliano Bolognesi is the 6th most famous Italian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Aureliano Bolognesi (15 November 1930 in Sestri Ponente, Italy – 30 March 2018 in Genoa) was an Italian boxer.

7. Sandro Lopopolo (1939 - 2014)

With an HPI of 46.27, Sandro Lopopolo is the 7th most famous Italian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Alessandro "Sandro" Lopopolo (18 December 1939 – 26 April 2014) was an Italian 1959 amateur featherweight and 1960 amateur lightweight boxing champion, and also world boxing champion in the light welterweight division afterwards, when he turned professional, between 1961 and 1973. Sandro Lopopolo started his career in 1957, losing his first against amateur boxer Nino Benvenuti, in the 12th round, in Madison Square Garden, New York City.

8. Arturo Gatti (1972 - 2009)

With an HPI of 46.09, Arturo Gatti is the 8th most famous Italian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Arturo Gatti (April 15, 1972 – July 11, 2009) was a Canadian professional boxer who competed from 1991 to 2007. A world champion in two weight classes, Gatti held the IBF junior lightweight title from 1995 to 1998, and the WBC super lightweight title from 2004 to 2005. He also participated in The Ring magazine's Fight of the Year a total of four times (1997, 1998, 2002, and 2003). He announced his retirement on July 14, 2007. After his death in 2009, Gatti was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame on December 10, 2012, in his first year of eligibility, becoming the tenth Canadian boxer to be so inducted. Gatti was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Gatti eventually relocated to Jersey City, New Jersey, as a teenager where he found a manager he trusted and decided to turn pro. He returned to Montreal after retiring from boxing to work in real estate. He died under mysterious circumstances in 2009. His Brazilian wife was arrested for his homicide, then released after an autopsy done in Brazil ruled his death was a suicide. Subsequent American and Quebecois investigations could not agree on Gatti's cause of death, and discovered a history of suicidal ideation.

9. Francesco Damiani (1958 - )

With an HPI of 43.17, Francesco Damiani is the 9th most famous Italian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Francesco Damiani (born 4 October 1958) is an Italian former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 1993. He was the first WBO heavyweight champion, having held the title from 1989 to 1991, as well as the European heavyweight title from 1987 to 1989. As an amateur he won silver medals in the super-heavyweight division at the 1982 World Championships and 1984 Summer Olympics.

10. Franco De Piccoli (1937 - )

With an HPI of 42.39, Franco De Piccoli is the 10th most famous Italian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Francesco De Piccoli (born 29 November 1937) is a former Italian boxer, who won the gold medal in the heavyweight division (+91 kg) at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.

People

Pantheon has 17 people classified as boxers born between 1904 and 1997. Of these 17, 8 (47.06%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living boxers include Francesco Damiani, Franco De Piccoli, and Cosimo Pinto. The most famous deceased boxers include Primo Carnera, Piero Toscani, and Carmelo Bossi. As of April 2022, 7 new boxers have been added to Pantheon including Carmelo Bossi, Fernando Atzori, and Franco De Piccoli.