Boxer Scardina in a coma, it’s serious. Diletta Leotta prays for him: «Forza Dani»- Corriere.it

The call to 118 from the Crossfit headquarters in Buccinasco, near Milan, arrived just before 5pm: a customer of the gym, one of the largest in the hinterland, had felt ill in the locker room and had lost consciousness. An ambulance and a ambulance arrived quickly: the man on the ground was not just any customer but Daniele Scardina, 30, former WBO intercontinental super middleweight champion, one of the most popular Italian boxers. It only took a few moments for the doctor to understand the seriousness of the situation, intubate him and alert the Humanitas operating roomwhere the athlete arrived in red code in less than ten minutes.

Daniele Scardina was operated on around 6pmthe head operation lasted more than four hours and the doctors at the end said they were moderately positive even if the patient remains in a coma and his conditions are considered serious. Alessandro Cherchi, the boxer’s manager, explains that Daniele had just done a normal workout, not particularly demanding, one of those you do every day. He has not suffered any hard or particular blows, did not fall or hit his head. He fell ill in the locker room just before entering the shower and was immediately rescued by those present.

The carabinieri of the Corsico company, who arrived shortly after the ambulance, collected the testimonies of owners and customers. Scardina only occasionally trained in the facility and he had just crossed gloves with a sparring partner in a lightweight match. At the end of the session she had complained severe pain in ear and right leg. In the locker room she passed out and even after the intervention of the doctors she never regained consciousness. It is impossible to hypothesize whether the episode is linked to yesterday’s training or whether it is the result of a previous situation.

After a past as an amateur, Scardina, from Milan, began fighting as a professional in 2015 and until 2021 he won all 20 matches played, sixteen times by knockout. The first and only defeat came in May 2022 by the Roman veteran Giovanni De Carolis, to whom he had to cede the WBO title after being knocked out, unable to react, in the fifth round of a ferocious match that had exalted the Capitoline public as not it had been going on for years.

Scardina had asked for and obtained a rematch, which however has been postponed three times (complete with the return of the tickets) since last autumn because the Milanese boxer has never managed to return to the weight limit (76 kilos) set for the category. A few weeks ago his managers had announced the change of plans: passage between the light heavyweights and fight on March 24 at the Allianz Cloud in Milan against the tough Belgian Cedric Spera. A match that Daniele was training hard for and that will never take place.

Scardina’s popularity has always gone far beyond sports reports. Long engaged to the TV presenter Diletta Leotta (Forza Dani posted yesterday), very popular on social networks thanks to his religious tattoos and his exuberance, competitor of dancing with the Stars paired with Anastasiya Kuz’mina, friend of rappers like Gu Pequeno, Fedez and Marracash, the former street kid from Rozzano who made a lot of messes (his definition) lived for a long time in the US to train with the champions and hunt for the world title, which he never managed to get close to. Now a much more difficult fight awaits him.