Mario D'Agata

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox boxer Mario D'Agata (29 May 1926 – 4 April 2009) was an Italian professional boxer, who was the first, and so far only, deaf world champion in boxing. He was a lineal, European, and Italian bantamweight champion.

Early life

D'Agata was born on 29 May 1926, in Arezzo, Italy. He had a tough childhood as a consequence of his disabilities, the victim of taunting from fellow school children. Feeling the need to prove himself equal, he resorted to street fighting as a way to demonstrate his equality. D'Agata was one of three children (out of seven) to be born deaf in his family. His parents moved him from Tuscany to Rome at an early age, hoping to find doctors who would cure him.

One afternoon he noticed a poster of a boxer adorning the door to a boxing gym. Upon entering he was enamored with how the boxers practiced their fighting in a polished, stylized way. D'Agata was drawn into boxing from that moment on. Due to the outbreak of the Second World War, however, D'Agata had to wait until he was 20 years old to fight as an amateur. In 1946, he began an amateur career that saw him win 90 out of 110 bouts.

Professional career

On 14 October 1950, D'Agata turned professional, defeating Giuseppe Saladari by a decision in six rounds. He built a record of 10–0 with 1 knockout before suffering his first loss, at the hands of Romolo Re, 2 August 1951, by a decision in ten. Another loss to Re would follow, but D'Agata was able to build a 19–3–2 record with 4 knockouts before challenging for the Italian bantamweight title, on 26 September 1953, beating Gianni Zuddas by a disqualification in round nine to claim the belt. After five more wins, he travelled to Tunisia, where he met the future world champion Robert Cohen, losing a ten-round decision. After two more wins, he embarked on what would have been a long tour of Australia, a trip cut short after three wins when he was shot by his associate.

D'Agata then returned to Italy, where he was no longer recognized as champion. On 25 May 1955, he defeated Arthur Emboule by decision in eight rounds, in his first bout after the shooting. After eight more wins in a row (which raised his winning streak to a total of thirteen wins in a row), he was given a shot at the European bantamweight title by Andre Valignat on 29 October of the same year, and he defeated Valignat by a fifth round disqualification.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On 29 June 1956, D'Agata finally received his world title opportunity, when former conqueror Cohen gave him a chance to win the world bantamweight title in Rome.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> D'Agata made his dream come true by knocking Cohen out in six rounds in front of 38,000 fans, many of whom rushed to the ring the moment the fight was over, carrying D'Agata out of the ring on their arms. With that win, D'Agata made history as the first deaf world champion of boxing.

D'Agata went to Paris to defend his title for the first time, on 1 April 1957, against local challenger Alphonse Halimi. Special lights had been set specially for this fight, so that D'Agata, who could not hear the bell after each round, would be able to tell when each round was finished. These lights would flash the moment the bell rang. There was a storm on the day of the fight, which was held in an open-air area. Lightning struck one of the special lights in round three, and D'Agata was struck by sparkles, suffering a burned neck and back. It was decided the fight would go on, and D'Agata tried to defy the odds for the remaining of the fight, but he lost the title by a fifteen-round decision.

D'Agata never received a rematch from Halimi. He then fought on with mixed success, until 1 August 1962, when he announced his retirement. He was able to stay away from boxing for the rest of his life.

Legacy

D'Agata became an example to many in his native Italy, where some boxing fans still regard him as a hero. In addition to enduring disabilities, he also survived an attempt on his life before becoming a world champion, after being shot in the chest by a business partner in Australia, on 12 February 1955. This cost him a shot at the world bantamweight title, at the time held by Raul Macias.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Professional boxing record

Template:Abbr	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round,time	Date	Age	Location	Notes
67	Template:No2Loss	54–10–3	Federico Scarponi	PTS	12	Jul 19, 1962	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small	Template:Small
66	Template:Yes2Win	54–9–3	Andre Gasperini	PTS	8	Mar 27, 1962	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
65	Template:Yes2Win	53–9–3	Ugo Milan	TKO	6 (8)	Jan 19, 1962	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
64	Template:Yes2Win	52–9–3	Francisco Carreno	PTS	8	Nov 24, 1961	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
63	Template:Yes2Win	51–9–3	Lazaro ben Layachi	KO	6 (8)	Oct 27, 1961	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
62	Template:No2Loss	50–9–3	Jackie Brown	PTS	10	Jun 9, 1960	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
61	Template:No2Loss	50–8–3	Freddie Gilroy	PTS	10	Sep 15, 1959	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
60	Template:No2Loss	50–7–3	José Becerra	RTD	10 (12)	Feb 5, 1959	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
59	Template:No2Loss	50–6–3	Piero Rollo	PTS	15	Oct 12, 1958	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small	Template:Small
58	Template:Yes2Win	50–5–3	Mimoun Ben Ali	PTS	10	Sep 13, 1958	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
57	Template:Yes2Win	49–5–3	Michel Lamora	KO	4 (10)	Feb 13, 1958	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
56	Template:Yes2Win	48–5–3	Roger Cappato	PTS	10	Dec 26, 1957	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
55	Template:Yes2Win	47–5–3	Jean Renard	KO	7 (10)	Dec 10, 1957	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
54	Template:Yes2Win	46–5–3	Federico Scarponi	KO	8 (15), Template:Small	Oct 27, 1957	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small	Template:Small
53	Template:Yes2Win	45–5–3	Roland Roy	TKO	7 (10)	Jun 28, 1957	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
52	Template:No2Loss	44–5–3	Alphonse Halimi	PTS	15	Apr 1, 1957	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small	Template:Small
51	Template:DrawDraw	44–4–3	Robert Tartari	PTS	10	Dec 8, 1956	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
50	Template:Yes2Win	44–4–2	Juan Cardenas	PTS	10	Oct 27, 1956	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
49	Template:Yes2Win	43–4–2	Robert Cohen	TKO	7 (15)	Jun 29, 1956	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small	Template:Small
48	Template:Yes2Win	42–4–2	Jesus Lucas Rubio	PTS	10	May 18, 1956	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
47	Template:Yes2Win	41–4–2	Jesus Lucas Rubio	PTS	10	Mar 21, 1956	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
46	Template:Yes2Win	40–4–2	Little Cezar	SD	10	Jan 21, 1956	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
45	Template:Yes2Win	39–4–2	Andre Valignat	DQ	5 (15), Template:Small	Oct 29, 1955	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small	Template:Small
44	Template:Yes2Win	38–4–2	Jean Kidy	RTD	5 (10)	Oct 15, 1955	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
43	Template:Yes2Win	37–4–2	Pedro Paris	KO	3 (10)	Sep 15, 1955	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
42	Template:Yes2Win	36–4–2	Jose Luis Martinez	KO	8 (10)	Aug 18, 1955	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
41	Template:Yes2Win	35–4–2	Mohamed Farid	TKO	4 (10), Template:Small	Aug 9, 1955	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
40	Template:Yes2Win	34–4–2	Jose Crespo	KO	5 (10)	Jul 30, 1955	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
39	Template:Yes2Win	33–4–2	Henri Schmid	PTS	10	Jul 21, 1955	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
38	Template:Yes2Win	32–4–2	Robert Meunier	PTS	10	Jun 28, 1955	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
37	Template:Yes2Win	31–4–2	Assane Fakyh	RTD	4 (10)	Jun 13, 1955	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
36	Template:Yes2Win	30–4–2	Arthur Emboule	RTD	8 (10)	May 25, 1955	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
35	Template:Yes2Win	29–4–2	Billy Peacock	PTS	12	Dec 10, 1954	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
34	Template:Yes2Win	28–4–2	Bobby Sinn	PTS	12	Nov 19, 1954	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
33	Template:Yes2Win	27–4–2	Alex Bollaert	TKO	5 (10)	Oct 1, 1954	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
32	Template:Yes2Win	26–4–2	Andre Valignat	PTS	10	Jul 31, 1954	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
31	Template:Yes2Win	25–4–2	Emile Chemama	PTS	10	Jun 12, 1954	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
30	Template:No2Loss	24–4–2	Robert Cohen	UD	10	May 15, 1954	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
29	Template:Yes2Win	24–3–2	Kid Andre	TKO	10 (10)	Apr 30, 1954	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
28	Template:Yes2Win	23–3–2	Giovanni Zuddas	PTS	12	Apr 10, 1954	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small	Template:Small
27	Template:Yes2Win	22–3–2	Luigi Fasulo	RTD	4 (12)	Jan 23, 1954	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small	Template:Small
26	Template:DrawDraw	21–3–2	Andre Valignat	PTS	10	Nov 15, 1953	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
25	Template:Yes2Win	21–3–1	Pierre Gress Gyde	TKO	6 (10)	Oct 30, 1953	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
24	Template:Yes2Win	20–3–1	Giovanni Zuddas	DQ	9 (12)	Sep 26, 1953	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small	Template:Small
23	Template:Yes2Win	19–3–1	Arthur Emboule	PTS	10	Jul 6, 1953	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
22	Template:Yes2Win	18–3–1	Edmond Moletto	PTS	10	Mar 30, 1953	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
21	Template:Yes2Win	17–3–1	Jacques Louni	PTS	10	Jan 15, 1953	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
20	Template:Yes2Win	16–3–1	Giuseppe D'Augusta	PTS	10	Dec 26, 1952	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
19	Template:Yes2Win	15–3–1	Gaetano Annaloro	DQ	7 (8)	Nov 26, 1952	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
18	Template:Yes2Win	14–3–1	Rino Stiaccini	PTS	6	Nov 7, 1952	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
17	Template:Yes2Win	13–3–1	Enzo Ganadu	RTD	3 (10)	Jun 11, 1952	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
16	Template:No2Loss	12–3–1	Renato Denti	DQ	5 (10)	May 17, 1952	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
15	Template:Yes2Win	12–2–1	Giuliano Catini	TKO	2 (10)	Feb 20, 1952	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
14	Template:No2Loss	11–2–1	Kid Arcelli	PTS	10	Dec 28, 1951	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
13	Template:Yes2Win	11–1–1	Luigi Fasulo	TKO	3 (10)	Nov 30, 1951	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
12	Template:DrawDraw	10–1–1	Giuseppe D'Augusta	PTS	8	Sep 29, 1951	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
11	Template:No2Loss	10–1	Kid Arcelli	PTS	10	Aug 2, 1951	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
10	Template:Yes2Win	10–0	Arturo Paoletti	DQ	7 (10)	Jun 22, 1951	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
9	Template:Yes2Win	9–0	Tino Cardinale	PTS	8	May 31, 1951	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
8	Template:Yes2Win	8–0	Benito Giovanni Fattori	PTS	8	May 2, 1951	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
7	Template:Yes2Win	7–0	Arturo Peratici	PTS	8	Feb 28, 1951	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
6	Template:Yes2Win	6–0	Giovanni Capobianchi	PTS	8	Jan 31, 1951	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
5	Template:Yes2Win	5–0	Pietro Cesarini	DQ	2 (8)	Jan 12, 1951	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
4	Template:Yes2Win	4–0	Gaudenzio Carutti	TKO	4 (6)	Dec 16, 1950	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
3	Template:Yes2Win	3–0	Settimio Marabitti	PTS	6	Nov 4, 1950	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
2	Template:Yes2Win	2–0	Settimio Marabitti	PTS	6	Oct 28, 1950	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
1	Template:Yes2Win	1–0	Giuseppe Salardi	PTS	6	Oct 14, 1950	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small

See also

• List of European Boxing Union bantamweight champions
• Ramon Nery - another deaf professional boxer

External links

• Template:Boxrec
• Mario D'Agata - CBZ Profile

Template:S-start-collapsible Template:S-text |- Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl Template:S-vac |- Template:S-vac Template:S-ttl Template:S-aft Template:S-text |- Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl Template:S-aft Template:S-end Template:Authority control