Giuseppe Ros

Bepi Ros won his place at the Tokyo Olympics by winning the Italian amateur heavyweight championships via a first-round knockout. The crowning moment of his amateur career came as he won bronze in Tokyo after his Romanian opponent was disqualified in the quarter-finals. Germany’s Hans Huber defeated Ros in a close semi-final.

Ros cashed in on his success by turning professional in early 1965 and won 18 of his first 20 fights. Significantly his only losses came on the two occasions he fought outside Italy. After three consecutive defeats in 1967-68 he bounced back by becoming Italian Heavyweight Champion in 1970, although he lost his first defence of the title later the same year. He was to hold the title twice more, in 1971 and finally from 1972 to 1974.

In 1973 Ros lost an attempt for the European title when he was comfortably outpointed by British boxer Joe Bugner. Ros’s career petered out in the mid-70s when he lost seven of what proved to be his last eight professional contests. His final career record was 42 wins, 16 defeats and 2 draws. Unfortunately, like many boxers before him, he later suffered from the effects of Alzheimer’s Disease, and was eventually confined to a wheelchair and cared for by his wife and daughter.