# Patrizio Oliva

Patrizio Oliva (born 28 January 1959) is an Italian former professional boxer, who won the gold medal in the light welterweight division at the 1980 Moscow Olympics as an amateur and the WBA light welterweight title as a professional.

## Early life

Patrizio is one of seven brothers born to Rocco and Catena Oliva.
Oliva was introduced to boxing through his father Rocco and his brother Mario's passion for the sport. One of his brothers, Ciro, died and Oliva dedicated a number of his fights to the memory of Ciro and also named his first son after him.

## Amateur career

Oliva had a successful amateur career and won 93 of his 96 fights winning the Italian, European and Olympic titles.
At international level Oliva won the 1978 European Junior Championships in Dublin, Ireland and silver medal at the 1979 European Senior Championships in Cologne, West Germany. Oliva was beaten by Soviet boxer Serik Konakbayev in the final of the Cologne championship and stated that his fight against Konakbaev was the hardest of his career. The following year he represented his country and boxed at the Olympic Games for Italy and would again face Konakbaev.

### 1980 Olympics

Following two years of winning European title Oliva competed in the blue vest of Italy at the 1980 Summer Olympics, which were held in Moscow, USSR.
Oliva competed in the Light Welterweight (– 63.5 kg) division. He defeated Beninese Aurelien Agnan in his first contest after referee stopped contest in first round. In his second contest he stopped Syrian Farez Halabi in the third round and beat Yugoslavian Ace Rusevski in the quarter-final. In the semi-final Oliva faced British boxer Tony Willis. This fight went the full three round distance and Oliva was once again victorious after all five judges gave him the decision.
On 2 August 1980, Oliva once again met his opponent from the final of the 1979 European championships, Serik Konakbaev, in the final of the Olympics. This time Oliva reversed the result by beating Konakbaev in front of his home crowd to take the gold medal and win the Val Barker Trophy for being "Outstanding Boxer" at the 1980 Olympics.

#### Olympic results

* Defeated Aurelien Agnan (Benin) RSC-1
* Defeated Farez Halabi (Syria) RSC-3
* Defeated Ace Rusevski (Yugoslavia) 3–2
* Defeated Tony Willis (Great Britain) 5–0
* Defeated Serik Konakbayev (Soviet Union) 4–1

## Professional career
### Debut

Within two months of winning gold at the Moscow Olympics, Oliva turned professional. His first fight was on 11 October 1980 against Italian based Brazilian Nelson Gomes in Naples, Italy. Oliva defeated Gomes on points over six rounds to secure his first victory as a professional.

### Early fights

After Oliva's first win in the professional ranks, he then went on a run of victories. From October 1980 to August 1981, Oliva won thirteen straight fights before he fought for his first title belt, the Italian light welterweight title against Giuseppe Russi on 4 November 1981 in Ischia. Oliva handled Russi with ease winning the title with a second round knockout. Oliva followed his first title win by winning a further eleven straight fight between November 1981 and October 1982.

### European title

This left Oliva with a record of 25 victories with no losses and earned him a fight against Frenchman Robert Gambini for a chance to win for his first major title, the European light welterweight title. Oliva was again victorious and took the title from Gambini on points over twelve rounds. Gambini retired from boxing after the fight.
Oliva continued his run of career victories by winning his first 48 fights, including a victory over Ubaldo Nestor Sacco in 1986 to capture the WBA light welterweight title. Oliva defended the title twice before losing to Juan Martin Coggi by KO in 1987. After a two-year rest, Oliva came back and went on to win his next 9 fights, setting up a shot at WBC welterweight title holder James McGirt in 1992. Oliva lost via unanimous decision, and retired after the bout with a record of 57–2–0.

## Personal life

Oliva has been married twice and has four children. He's an atheist.

## Professional boxing record

| 59 fights | 57 wins | 2 losses |
| By knockout | 20 | 1 |
| By decision | 36 | 1 |
| By disqualification | 1 | 0 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 59 | Loss | 57–2 | Buddy McGirt | UD | 12 (12) | 1992-06-25 | Acquaflash di Licola, Licola, Italy | For WBC welterweight title |
| 58 | Win | 57–1 | Antoine Fernandez | PTS | 12 (12) | 1992-02-19 | San Pellegrino Terme, Italy | Retained European welterweight title |
| 57 | Win | 56–1 | Jose Luis Saldivia | PTS | 10 (10) | 1991-12-04 | San Pellegrino Terme, Italy | |
| 56 | Win | 55–1 | Juan Carlos Ortiz | PTS | 8 (8) | 1991-10-05 | Laigueglia, Italy | |
| 55 | Win | 54–1 | Errol McDonald | DQ | 12 (12) | 1991-06-08 | La Spezia, Italy | Retained European welterweight title |
| 54 | Win | 53–1 | Adolfo Omar Arce Rossi | UD | 8 (8) | 1991-03-23 | Vallecrosia, Italy | |
| 53 | Win | 52–1 | Kirkland Laing | UD | 12 (12) | 1990-11-14 | Casinò di Campione, Campione d'Italia, Italy | Won European welterweight title |
| 52 | Win | 51–1 | Jorge Argentino Tejada | PTS | 10 (10) | 1990-07-20 | Sarno, Italy | |
| 51 | Win | 50–1 | Anthony Stephens | PTS | 8 (8) | 1989-12-13 | San Giuseppe Vesuviano, Italy | |
| 50 | Win | 49–1 | Howard Stewart | UD | 8 (8) | 1989-07-05 | Praiano, Italy | |
| 49 | Loss | 48–1 | Martín Coggi | KO | 3 (15) | 1987-07-04 | Palazzo Dello Sport, Ribera, Italy | Lost WBA light-welterweight title |
| 48 | Win | 48–0 | Rodolfo González | UD | 15 (15) | 1987-01-10 | Teatro Tenda, Agrigento, Italy | Retained WBA light-welterweight title |
| 47 | Win | 47–0 | Brian Brunette | TKO | 3 (15) | 1986-09-06 | Palasport di Napoli di Furoi, Naples, Italy | Retained WBA light-welterweight title |
| 46 | Win | 46–0 | Eric Martin | PTS | 10 (10) | 1986-07-30 | Capo d'Orlando, Italy | |
| 45 | Win | 45–0 | Ford Jennings | PTS | 10 (10) | 1986-06-14 | Praiano, Italy | |
| 44 | Win | 44–0 | Ubaldo Néstor Sacco | SD | 15 (15) | 1986-03-15 | Stade Louis II, Fontvieille, Monaco | Won WBA light-welterweight title |
| 43 | Win | 43–0 | Rick Kaiser | TKO | 4 (10) | 1986-01-21 | Pozzuoli, Italy | |
| 42 | Win | 42–0 | Mark Lassein | UD | 10 (10) | 1985-12-08 | Maurice Richard Arena, Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| 41 | Win | 41–0 | Steve Mitchell | PTS | 8 (8) | 1985-10-31 | Viterbo, Italy | |
| 40 | Win | 40–0 | Nick Parker | PTS | 8 (8) | 1985-07-21 | Casinò di Campione, Campione d'Italia, Italy | |
| 39 | Win | 39–0 | Alessandro Scapecchi | UD | 12 (12) | 1985-03-27 | Nocera, Italy | Retained European light-welterweight title |
| 38 | Win | 38–0 | Michel Giroud | RTD | 8 (12) | 1984-12-15 | Catanzaro, Italy | Retained European light-welterweight title |
| 37 | Win | 37–0 | Tusikoleta Nkalankete | PTS | 12 (12) | 1984-09-04 | Acciaroli, Italy | Retained European light-welterweight title |
| 36 | Win | 36–0 | Ali Kareem Muhammad | PTS | 8 (8) | 1984-06-23 | Campione d'Italia, Italy | |
| 35 | Win | 35–0 | Jose Ramon Gomez Fouz | TKO | 4 (12) | 1984-04-28 | San Giuseppe Vesuviano, Italy | Retained European light-welterweight title |
| 34 | Win | 34–0 | Kevin Austin | PTS | 8 (8) | 1984-03-23 | Chiavari, Italy | |
| 33 | Win | 33–0 | Charlie Allen | TKO | 3 (?) | 1984-02-22 | Gragnano, Italy | |
| 32 | Win | 32–0 | Jerome Artis | PTS | 10 (10) | 1984-01-28 | Palazzo Dello Sport, Marsala, Italy | |
| 31 | Win | 31–0 | Anthony Murray | TKO | 6 (?) | 1983-12-21 | Pozzuoli, Italy | |
| 30 | Win | 30–0 | Juan Jose Gimenez | UD | 12 (12) | 1983-10-14 | Palasport di San Siro, Milan, Italy | Retained European light-welterweight title |
| 29 | Win | 29–0 | Antonio Guinaldo | PTS | 12 (12) | 1983-07-31 | Rapallo, Italy | Retained European light-welterweight title |
| 28 | Win | 28–0 | Jean-Marie Touati | TKO | 6 (12) | 1983-05-25 | Santa Margherita di Belice, Italy | Retained European light-welterweight title |
| 27 | Win | 27–0 | Francisco León | TKO | 11 (12) | 1983-03-19 | Palazzetto dello Sport, Naples, Italy | Retained European light-welterweight title |
| 26 | Win | 26–0 | Robert Gambini | PTS | 12 (12) | 1983-01-05 | Ischia, Italy | Won European light-welterweight title |
| 25 | Win | 25–0 | Dave McCabe | PTS | 8 (8) | 1982-10-06 | Gragnano, Italy | |
| 24 | Win | 24–0 | Luciano Navarra | PTS | 12 (12) | 1982-09-01 | Forio, Italy | Retained Italian light-welterweight title |
| 23 | Win | 23–0 | Andre Holyk | TKO | 4 (10) | 1982-08-08 | Marina di Camerota, Italy | |
| 22 | Win | 22–0 | Hugues Samo | PTS | 8 (8) | 1982-05-29 | Milan, Italy | |
| 21 | Win | 21–0 | Samuel Serunjogi | PTS | 8 (8) | 1982-05-20 | Vieste, Italy | |
| 20 | Win | 20–0 | Giuseppe Martinese | PTS | 12 (12) | 1982-04-11 | Forio, Italy | Retained Italian light-welterweight title |
| 19 | Win | 19–0 | Francesco Gallo | PTS | 8 (8) | 1982-03-06 | Giovinazzo, Italy | |
| 18 | Win | 18–0 | Bruno Simili | TKO | 8 (12) | 1982-02-11 | Naples, Italy | Retained Italian light-welterweight title |
| 17 | Win | 17–0 | Antonio Antino | TKO | 3 (12) | 1981-12-27 | Forio, Italy | Retained Italian light-welterweight title |
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Mosimo Maeleke | PTS | 8 (8) | 1981-12-11 | Milan, Italy | |
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | Rafael Gutierrez | RTD | 5 (?) | 1981-11-27 | Bologna, Italy | |
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Giuseppe Russi | KO | 2 (12) | 1981-11-04 | Forio, Italy | Won Italian light-welterweight title |
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Patrizio Burini | RTD | 1 (8) | 1981-08-09 | Camaiore, Italy | |
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Charles Jurietti | RTD | 4 (?) | 1981-07-01 | Formia, Italy | |
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | George Burton | UD | 6 (6) | 1981-06-04 | Felt Forum, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Francesco Gallo | TKO | 7 (?) | 1981-05-15 | Padua, Italy | |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Rene Martin | TKO | 4 (8) | 1981-05-01 | Piacenza, Italy | |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Rosario di Tommaso | TKO | 2 (8) | 1981-04-04 | Campobasso, Italy | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Luigi Curcetti | PTS | 8 (8) | 1981-03-20 | Naples, Italy | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Mohatar II | TKO | 4 (?) | 1981-03-06 | Milan, Italy | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Georges Cotin | PTS | 6 (6) | 1981-02-23 | Rome, Italy | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Mohammed el Kadoumi | PTS | 6 (6) | 1980-12-26 | Bologna, Italy | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Eloi de Souza | TKO | 6 (6) | 1980-11-08 | Latina, Italy | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Benedicto dos Santos | PTS | 6 (6) | 1980-10-25 | Pordenone, Italy | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Nelson Gomes | PTS | 6 (6) | 1980-10-11 | Naples, Italy | |