Fernando Atzori

Despite an injury above an eye, Fernando Atzori won the Olympic flyweight title in 1964, defeating the Pole Artur Olech with a 4-1 decision.

Atzori was born in a small town in Sardinia where sport was practically non-existent. There was no gym, and he trained in an improvised boxing ring in a small room. To improve his boxing skills, he moved to Firenze where he worked as a house painter. He lost part of a finger in a carpentry accident as a youngster, but it did not prevent him from going on to became a two-time military world champion, and a Mediterranean Games gold medallist in 1963, beating the Yugoslavian Branislav Mirkovic in the final. Atzori’s amateur record was 37 victories, 3 defeats and 3 draws.

As a professional, Atzori became the European flyweight champion in 1967, beating the Frenchman René Libeer. He defended his title nine times before losing it in 1972 to the Switzerland’s Fritz Chervet (KO in the 11th round). He regained it in 1973 against another Frenchman, Dominique Cesari (KO in 12th), and lost it once and for all in the same year, again to Chervet (KO in 7th). Atzori retired in 1975 with a professional record of 44 victories (13 by knockout), 6 defeats and 2 draws.

Atzori was awarded the Gold Medal of the Italian Olympic Committee for his boxing achievements. In 2015 he received the “Collare d’Oro” for sporting merit. Atzori died in Firenze in November 2020 after a long illness.