Monday,
February 18, 2008
Marcianise,
Small town in Southern Italy, Sends Half of Italy
The
ANNOTICO Report
Italians are
Boxing Clever
Sydney
Morning Herald -
Antonella
Ciancio
February
17, 2008
This town of
40,000 north of
Half the members
of the Italian team who have qualified for the Beijing Olympics were born in
this modest town.
"The
inhabitant of Marcianise is born with a great desire
to be in punch-ups so we have a very easy task," chief coach Domenico Brillantino says during a sparring session at the
Excelsior Boxe, the club he founded 30 years ago.
"We prepare them, we try to mould their desire to fight so it
The Excelsior,
which is Latin for "higher", is housed rent-free in an elementary
school. Far from the glitzy arenas seen on television, it has a story of
self-denial to tell.
"When I see
my picture on the cover of a glossy magazine I see a whole life of sacrifices
that started when I was 10 years old," world amateur heavyweight champion Clemente Russo, one of the
sport
"I was 14
but I was still going to school. I used to wake up at six and go running in the
dark, in the cold and rain," adds Russo, his eyes glazing over as he
recalled his early training in Marcianise.
Three of the four
Italian boxers who have so far qualified for the Games - Russo, lightweight Domenico Valentino and
flyweight Vincenzo Picardi - were born between
Only
Roberto Cammarelle
- who claimed the world amateur super- heavyweight title in
"Many of the
greatest Italian fighters come from
"Our
fighters are in very good shape," he adds, hoping more will clinch an
Olympic berth at the first European qualifying tournament in
Having become
little more than a niche sport compared with the halcyon days of the 1970s and
The number of
athletes joining the Italian boxing federation has been rising every year and,
as confirmation of an increasing interest in
No matter if
safety regulations, such as the headguards amateur
boxers must wear in the ring, have diminished what once was considered the
biggest attraction - sweat and blood.
"I like
amateur boxing, it
Every year dozens
of young fighters from southern
Then comes
passion, says Olympic bronze medallist Angelo Musone.
"Boxing
changed my life forever," says Musone, 44, who,
after hanging up the gloves, now sits on the Italian federation
His photo, with
those of past and present champions, forms part of "stars corner", a
handmade poster decorated with golden stars which hangs on a wall at the
Excelsior gym.
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