Luigi Minchillo

After a rebellious childhood, Luigi Minchillo joined the Amici Pugilato Pesaro at the age of 16 where he was coached by Lauro Mattioli. In 1973, when still only 18-years-of-age, Minchillo represented Italy against the United States and was knocked out in the first round of his bout with Sugar Ray Leonard, perhaps the greatest welterweight of all time.

In 1975 Minchillo joined the Cagliari police force and went on to win the Italian amateur welterweight title. He later won the middleweight gold medal at the Mediterranean Games by beating the Yugoslav Zivorad Jelisijevic in the final. The following year Minchillo represented Italy at the Montréal Olympics, where he was defeated by the eventual bronze medallist, Germany’s Reinhard Skricek. The decision to award the bout to the German was not well received by the crowd.

Minchillo turned pro in 1977 with Umberto Branchini’s team and won his first 17 bouts until the run was ended by Alvaro Scarpelli after receiving an injury in the fourth round. At Pesaro in 1979, Minchillo won the Italian super-welterweight title by knocking out Clemente Gessi in the first round. Minchillo defended the title four times. Minchillo won the European title in 1981 against the French-Algerian Louis Acariès, and subsequently gave up his Italian title. Also in 1981, Minchillo fought the Panamanian Roberto Durán at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, but lost on points in ten rounds. Just two months later he defended his European title by knocking out Frenchman Claude Martin after just fifteen seconds of the contest.

After other successful defences of his European title, Minchillo got his first opportunity to fight for the WBC super-welterweight world title in 1984 against the American Thomas Hearns in Detroit. Hearns won with a unanimous verdict. Minchillo got a second world title opportunity when the undefeated WBA champion Mike McCallum of Jamaica agreed to fight him in Milano. The Italian was again unlucky when beaten with a technical knockout in the 13th round.

Married to a French girl and father of three children, Minchillo’s last of 60 pro bouts was at Rimini for the vacant European Super-welterweight title in January 1988. After the end of his fighting career, Minchillo ran his own gym in the city of Pesaro, where he died in September 2023 following a heart attack.