Michele, former European champion and world challenger, of Sinti ethnicity, is about to return to the ring at 43: “I still have something to give, I dream of one last show. I liked Rocky and Bruce Lee, I also have a black belt in karate, but boxing brought home some money…”
Passion never dies. Especially if you’ve spent practically your whole life between those ropes. Michele Di Rocco was one of the most exciting Italian boxers at the turn of the century, European champion and then world challenger. Since he was a child, he has pursued his dream of making history in the ring, and despite not having fought for more than eight years, he has not yet given up on it. He will return on November 8 in Estonia against Ukrainian Liashevych, a soft start as he awaits the last, big show.

Michele, is it true that you chose boxing because you were a huge fan of the Rocky Balboa movies?

“That’s right. As a child, I had two movie idols: Rocky and Bruce Lee. In fact, for a few years I practiced boxing and karate together, and few people know that I also have a black belt. But I liked boxing better, and when I got my first call-ups to the national team, it allowed me to send some money home, so I gave up karate. My family is humble, even though they never let me and my sisters go without anything. My father was a bricklayer and my mother was a housewife, but to earn a little extra money, she read her friends’ palms.

And she never did it with you?

“Before each of my fights, we would sit facing each other: she would hold my hand and look me in the eyes and say, ‘Michele, everything will be fine. It wasn’t the match itself that mattered, but my health.“

At the 2004 Athens Olympics, you were one of the stars of the Italian team, but you were defeated in a match for the medals.

”Getting there wasn’t easy, partly because I had just moved up from lightweight to welterweight. And then there was someone on the team who was pushing for Brunet Zamora, but I defeated him at the 2003 Nationals, proving that I deserved the spot. And in Athens, in the quarterfinals against the Romanian Gheorghe, I was only beaten by the perverse system of the machines: the day before, another Romanian had been robbed, so compensation was needed. And I was the victim.”

You belong to the generation of Russo and Cammarelle, who remained amateurs until the end of their careers, achieving great success and popularity: have you ever regretted not making the same choice?

“Looking back, I might have some doubts, but I don’t regret anything: I’m a free spirit, I’ve always had a bit of a problem with restrictions, and to stay in the national team for a long time, you also have to make compromises. And then I always had the dream of becoming a champion among the professionals, so I stand by all my choices with my head held high. A boxer with my stylistic qualities would have made real money in America and England. Yet I did have one small opportunity.“

Tell us about it.

”When I was eighteen, I did an internship at Gleason’s Gym, the gym where Mike Tyson, among others, trained. They offered me a place there, but I was still too young to decide and was probably given bad advice. So I came back to Italy.“

Not that things went badly: I became European champion and then world super lightweight challenger.

”I had my best fights against the Finn Piispanen in Milan and the Spaniard Nieto at his home. But the WBA world title fight against Burns in Glasgow was the biggest disappointment of my life.”

On the most important day, the ghost of Di Rocco entered the ring.

“But it wasn’t my fault. The original plan was to fight Benavidez for the world title in December 2015, so I spent the whole of August in Milan on my own, and then in November they told me that everything had been canceled and that my opponent would be changed. But until a month and a half before the match, there had been no confirmation. I stepped into the ring mentally drained, I wasn’t myself: that time I really risked hurting myself.”

And now why do you feel the need to return at the ripe old age of 43 and after being away from the ring for more than eight years?

“Because I’m physically fit and I think I can still contribute something to boxing. Even though I stopped a long time ago, I continued to train seriously and I won’t even have to push myself too hard to fight in the super welterweight category, which is the category I’m returning to. The first match will be a mild test, just to get back into the ring and regain my eye for the fight and get back into the rankings, then I’ll do another more serious fight or maybe a couple before a European or world match. I also owe it to my friend Antonio Ciarelli, who is also my sponsor and has believed in me in this adventure: it’s only right that I give something back after everything he’s doing for me.”

But are there really no more top-level boxers in Italy?

“The situation is rather bleak: I really like Armando Casamonica, who had a great match in Texas and will now compete in the European Championships. I’ve sparred with him many times because I often train at Quadraro, his gym, and I must say he’s taken a few punches from me. ..”.

So we’ll have to wait for his son Francesco, who seems promising.

“He’s named after my father, the great saint of Assisi, and Totti, a champion I’ve always admired. He definitely has talent, and despite being only 15, he already has a good punch. But let’s not rush him.“

You are of Sinti ethnicity: doesn’t it bother you that the Roma are always the target of so much racist prejudice?

”Ignorance is the grave of intelligence. I have experienced this firsthand, especially when my opponents would yell ‘gypsy’ at me to get me out of my mind. But I silenced them in the ring: I beat all those who called me names.”