The redemption of others has “a thousand culures”. The story of Patrizio Oliva

An unfair defeat and the nemesis of Olympic gold. Then, having put off the gloves, the Neapolitan boxer remembers other misfortunes, other sufferings suffered. They are those of the kids enlisted by the bosses, who he decides to take off the street

One thousand nine hundred and seventy-nine. We are in Cologne. The boxer Patrizio Oliva, known as the Sparviero, born in Naples on January 28, 1959, is playing for the European super lightweight title against the Soviet Serik Konakbayev. He wins, wins the match hands down, but the jury issues a shameful verdict and attributes the victory to the Soviet. Perhaps because the German judges want to keep the Russian ones quiet in view of the following year’s Olympics, scheduled in Moscow? Perhaps. The fact is that the gold medal for Konakbayev and the silver one for Oliva go down in history as one of the greatest thefts not only of boxing, but of the whole sport. It is a worldwide scandal.