Quite suprised that they fought, for those who don't know Clemente Russo beat Deontay Wilder in the 2008 Olympics. This content is protected
Russo also fought Oleksandr Usyk in the final of the 2012 Olympics at heavyweight. This content is protected
Italy have had some top boxers in the amateurs, shame we never got to see any of them in the pro ring, they would have been a force.
Good stuff. Russo had just turned 22 here, and would fill out to Heavyweight shortly after. This fight was in the round of 16. He'd follow that brief Olympic stint with a much better showing in 2008, where he beat Wilder, only to barely miss out on the gold to Rakhim Chakhkiev in an (customary for Russo-Chakhkiev) ugly, hard to score fight.
Ward fights in the olympics are some of the worst amateur fights you can find, the amount of holding was insane. Russo fights are pretty much awful as well but it's a shame that he never turned pro, he was really fast and explosive with good footwork and defense.
