Damiani To Get His Big Chance Against Holyfield

CAVALLINO, Italy - Holyfield-Tyson was the fight everyone wanted. Holyfield-Damiani is the fight they'll get.

When an injury forced Mike Tyson to pull out of his Nov. 8 matchup against Evander Holyfield for the undisputed heavyweight championship, Francesco Damiani stepped into the picture.

Who? Francesco Damiani. With a silver medal from the 1984 Olympics and a 27-1 record, he is not exactly an unknown, but he is so little regarded that both the WBC and IBF have refused to sanction the fight.

Often mentioned as a candidate to challenge Tyson during his reign as champion, the classic, stand-up counterpuncher was passed over time and time again.

Damiani, 33, got his unexpected title shot in late October, after Tyson's injured ribs forced him to pull out of the Holyfield fight, which was expected to gross more than $100 million.

Holyfield, who according to promoter Dan Duva stood to earn $30 million for fighting Tyson, will pocket $7 million in his defense against Damiani Saturday in Atlanta. The challenger will receive $750,000.

Damiani knows he's a big underdog against Holyfield. But he insists he has a chance.

"Undoubtedly, he's the best fighter I've ever faced," he said. "He's not a pure power-puncher. But he can turn it on. And more important, he knows when to turn it on. His strength is his hand speed. And so is mine. We'll see who's faster when we meet in the ring."

Damiani's first big fight came in January, when he was already 32 and had fought as a professional for six years. And it went badly, as Damiani lost both his WBO title and his unbeaten record to Ray Mercer, 1988 Olympic heavyweight champion, in Atlantic City on a 10th-round knockout.

The Damiani-Mercer bout had been billed as an unofficial heavyweight-championship semifinal, with the winner earning a chance to challenge the newly crowned Holyfield. And the loss seemed to signal the end of Damiani's short stint as a world-class contender.

"I still think about that fight," said Damiani, who was well ahead on points when a Mercer uppercut grazed his nose in the 10th, unleashing a torrent of blood that suffocated him and sent him down for the count. "I think about it at night, when I can't sleep. But a loss can be important, too. It reminds you that you're not invincible. And that nobody is."

Francesco Damiani neither looks nor acts the part of the famous athlete.

Although he has a 27-1 professional record with 22 knockouts, including a fifth-round KO in 1988 against the 1984 Olympic heavyweight gold medalist, Tyrell Biggs, Damiani's 6-foot-4, 229-pound frame is slender at the shoulders and flabby at the midsection. His arms are spindly. And his legs look slow.

"I remember in Atlantic City, when he first took the ring, they saw that he had a belly and thought that he didn't have a chance," says Claudia Damiani, who married Francesco in January of 1990.

"But after a couple of rounds, when they'd seen him fight, the whole place started cheering `Damiani,' `Damiani.' And even after he lost, a man came over to me at ringside and said, `Lady, he was beautiful.' "

Idle since the Mercer fight, Damiani had been preparing for a Nov. 23 tune-up bout against former WBA champion Mike Weaver when he received the offer to face Holyfield.

"It was a lucky break," said Elio Ghelfi, both manager and trainer for Damiani.

"We were already in training, although it's one thing to train for Weaver and another to train for Holyfield. It should be a very technical, very clean match. Holyfield is an excellent fighter who does nearly everything well. And I think he will bring out the best in us."

In Cavallino, where Francesco and Claudia live in a rented apartment (they will move to a house Damiani has built in his home town of Bagnacavallo when he retires from boxing), Damiani is just one of the neighborhood boys.

"He's a fantastic guy," said Marco Olivieri, whose family owns and runs the Da Savino restaurant where the townspeople come to play cards, eat, drink, chat, and where they congregate to watch and root for Damiani when he fights on television.

"He's got no airs, no pretenses. And nobody makes a big deal about him."

Damiani doesn't merely dream of going the distance with Holyfield. He dreams of being champion.

"First of all we'd have a month-and-a-half of parties," he predicted. "And Claudia and I still have yet to take our honeymoon. I've always been in training. We were finally supposed to go in January, but then the Gulf War broke out."

While in good general condition, Damiani has had only a few weeks to regain his timing, footwork, and coordination, and to unlearn the bad boxing habits that crept up on him during his long months away from the ring.

"I really haven't sparred with anyone since Mercer," he said after an afternoon training session in nearby San Marino.

"Today for example, I was all tight in the ring. I couldn't find my rhythm. There wasn't any harmony. Oh sure, I'll be ready for Holyfied. I just wish I had an extra 20 days. That would have been perfect."