There is little doubt that the two most valuable heavyweight boxers in the history of Italian boxing, excluding the legendary Rocky Marciano, who had Italian blood but was born and lived in the USA, were Primo Carnera and Francesco Damiani. The only heavyweights from our country capable of winning a world title, the two were characterized by profoundly different styles and strengths, also due to the enormous temporal gap between their respective eras. Today, for our weekly “Fantasy fight” column, we will imagine them appearing in the same ring to face each other in an extraordinary all-Italian derby!
Primo Carnera: The Old-School Giant with an Infinite Heart
Looking at photographs of the early champions in the history of boxing, the pioneers who at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries were giving rise to a more organized and evolved form of our beloved sport compared to previous centuries, one notices that the boxers of those years would guard themselves with their torsos arched backward, the left arm extended forward, and the right bent in a rather low position. Over time, this stance was gradually abandoned, thanks in part to great innovators like Jack Dempsey, who demonstrated the greater functionality of a more compact stance, with the torso leaning forward and the hands higher to protect the face. In this regard, Primo Carnera was an old-school boxer: although he rose to prominence when Dempsey had already hung up his gloves, the Italian athlete tried to maximize the enormous advantage of size and height he had over his opponents by arching backward, making it difficult for his opponent to hit his face. As evidenced by the 71 KOs he scored in his career, Carnera’s right hand claimed many victims, but even more noteworthy was the heart with which our boxer endured difficulties. Resisting stoically for almost 11 rounds against Max Baer’s devastating blows despite breaking his ankle in the second round and being knocked down about ten times gives an idea of how little Carnera was inclined to surrender.
Francesco Damiani: Never Judge a Book by Its Cover!
When it comes to heavyweights, judging a boxer’s value based on the aesthetic appearance of his physique is the worst mistake an observer can make. Countless examples from various historical eras could be used to demonstrate this premise, but perhaps the most effective is the one closest to us in time: judging solely by their physiques, the Mexican Andy Ruiz Jr should not have had any chance of troubling the handsome Anthony Joshua who, as we all know, was brutally knocked out in their first fight. Francesco Damiani never had a sculpted physique: his muscles were not chiseled out of stone, and his abdomen was not as lean as that of a swimsuit enthusiast, yet our representative knew how to practice boxing excellently. Damiani did not possess the brutal power of other champions in the category, but he had excellent offensive technique and superb timing. His punches, delivered with a great variety of trajectories, always landed at the right moment and found the target on the body and face with great precision. His workrate was also remarkable: many of his opponents, used to the more measured pace of the heavyweight division, could not find a way to counter the flurry of blows that the athlete from Bagnacavallo rained down on them without giving them time to regroup.
Carnera vs Damiani: the fantasy fight!
Weight class: Heavyweight. Rounds expected: 12.
Two boxers accustomed to controlling the center of the ring and dictating the pace of the action would face each other, which is why the classic feeling-out phase typical of high-level fights would likely have been short, quickly giving way to action. Like all the opponents Carnera faced in his career, Damiani would have also suffered from an anthropometric gap: about 3 inches shorter and with a reach disadvantage of 7 inches, the boxer from Emilia would have needed to find the right tactical key to close the distance without paying the price to develop his suffocating boxing. It is therefore possible that for one or two rounds, he would have had difficulty igniting the action, hindered by Carnera’s long arms and his habit of using his physical strength through prolonged clinches. In this regard, the referee’s approach would have been of significant importance in determining the dynamics of the fight: in Carnera’s time, boxers were allowed to hold frequently and stay holding for a long time before the referee intervened to separate them, a practice progressively abandoned to favor the spectacle.
If the referee had been particularly permissive, Damiani would probably have taken a few more minutes to solve the puzzle, but given his great tactical intelligence and marked technical superiority over his rival, it is highly likely that he would have taken command of operations in a reasonable time, creating a gap on the scorecards in his favor. Faster with his hands and with better timing, Damiani would have waited at mid-range for Carnera’s punches to then land his combinations and move out of the rival’s reach again. Even realizing he was at a disadvantage, Carnera would have struggled to find the necessary weapons in his arsenal to change the course of the fight. Lacking a plan B and unaccustomed to applying fierce pressure to turn the fight into a war, Primo would have been forced to take multiple blows to the body and face, falling further behind on points.
However, beware of the championship rounds: on one hand, Carnera, accustomed to fifteen rounds, would likely have conserved enough energy for a final rally; on the other hand, Damiani had more than once in his career given the impression of losing sharpness as he ran out of gas. In the final minutes of the fight, therefore, the giant from Sequals, facing a less quick opponent in his in-and-out movements, would have had more opportunities to land his right hands and uppercuts, making the finale a real hell for Damiani. It probably wouldn’t have been enough to overturn the outcome of the match, but it would certainly have made the spectators jump out of their seats!
Fantasy Prediction: After a few confusing rounds, marked by many clinches and few clean exchanges, Damiani would have taken the upper hand, racking up points and entering the final phase of the fight with a significant lead. Carnera would have sparked a exciting finale, thrilling the audience and coming close to a knockout blow. Result: Francesco Damiani wins by unanimous decision of the judges with margins ranging from 4 to 6 points.