Michele Piccirillo


Michele Piccirillo is a professional boxer in the welterweight division.

Amateur career

Michele Piccirillo was an Italian boxer who earned the nickname “Il Gentleman del Ring” for his elegant fighting style and sportsmanship. He started boxing under the guidance of his father and coach Scipione. As an amateur he fought 112 matches from 1986 to 1992, with 108 victories and 4 losses. The highlight of his amateur career came in 1991 when he won a bronze medal at the European Championship. He was eliminated in his first contest at the same year’s World Championship and also at the 1989 European Championships. Piccirillo turned professional after the Barcelona Games.

Professional career

In his 11th pro contest in 1994 he won the Intercontinental Light-Welterweight title against the Mexican Manuel Hernández, then on 21 July 1995, he became Italian champion against Franco Palmiero. His first defeat came in April 1996, in Denmark, where he lost a bout for the European title against the Dane Soren Sondergaard. After a final defense of the Italian title, he moved up to welterweight. On 29 November 1997, he knocked out the Briton Geoff McCreesh, to win the European welterweight crown.
Piccirillo immediately abandoned the title to challenge for the WBU world title, an organization with minimal recognition around the world. He won this title on 4 May 1998, at Catania in Sicily, against his fellow Italian Alessandro Duran. After 8 successful defences, he relinquished the title to fight for the more prestigious IBF title, which he then won in April 2002 by decision over the American Cory Spinks, the son of Leon Spinks which USA Today newspaper described as one of the most controversial decisions in modern boxing history. He lost the title the following year in a rematch.
After this Piccirillo moved up in weight again, this time to light-middleweights. On 13 August 2005, in Chicago, he was defeated by Ricardo Mayorga in a match for the latter’s WBC world crown. He rebounded to win the vacant European light-middleweight title against Lukáš Konečný, then defended it twice against Luca Messi and Michael Jones. On 1 December 2007, at Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, he tried again to win the world title, but was knocked out in round 11 by the American Vernon Forrest. His pro record ended at 50 wins, 5 losses, 1 no contest. Piccirillo was awarded the Gold Medal of the Italian Olympic Committee for his athletic achievements.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
56LossJamie MooreKO3 2009-03-06Robin Park Arena, Wigan, U.K.For vacant EBU light middleweight title
55Win50–4 János PetrovicsPTS6 2008-07-18Civitanova Marche, Italy
54Win49–4 Patrik HruskaPTS6 2008-05-16PalaRuffini, Torino, Italy
53Loss48–4 Vernon ForrestTKO11 2007-12-01Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, U.S.For WBC light middleweight title
52Win48–3 Sylvain TouzetPTS6 2007-07-31Centro Polivalente, San Genesio ed Uniti, Italy
51Win47–3 Michael JonesTKO12 2007-01-25PalaLido, Milan, ItalyRetained EBU light middleweight title
50Win46–3 Luca MessiTKO11 2006-07-27Velodromo Vigorelli, Milan, ItalyRetained EBU light middleweight title
49Win45–3 Lukáš KonečnýUD12 2006-03-10Palasport, Bergamo, ItalyWon vacant EBU light middleweight title
48Loss44–3 Ricardo MayorgaUD12 2005-08-13United Center, Chicago, U.S.For vacant WBC light middleweight title
47Win44–2 Serge VigneMD6 2004-11-13PalaBrera, San Martino Siccomario, Italy
46Win43–2 Lóránt SzabóKO1 2004-09-04Mede, Italy
45Win42–2 Stephane TallianaTKO3 2004-07-03Modugno, Italy
44Win41–2 Louis MimounePTS8 2004-03-27PalaLottomatica, Roma, Italy
43Win40–2 Paulo Alejandro SanchezUD8 2003-12-09PalaLido, Milan, Italy
42Win39–2 Ruben Dario OlivaKO7 2003-07-27Fasano, Italy
41Win38–2 Oscar Daniel VelizRTD6 2003-06-14Modugno, Italy
40Loss37–2 Cory SpinksUD12 2003-03-22Casinò di Campione, Campione d'Italia, ItalyLost IBF welterweight title
39Win37–1 Cory SpinksUD12 2002-04-13Casinò di Campione, Campione d'Italia, ItalyWon vacant IBF welterweight title
38Win36–1 Rafael PinedaUD12 2001-09-29Madison Square Garden, New York City, U.S.
37NC35–1 Elio OrtizNC4 2001-05-12Madison Square Garden, New York City, U.S.
36Win35–1Stanley MabesiKO3 2001-03-02Caltanissetta, Italy
35Win34–1Andrew MurrayTKO9 2000-08-05Bari, ItalyRetained WBU welterweight title
34Win33–1Walter CrucceUD12 2000-05-20Piancavallo, ItalyRetained WBU welterweight title
33Win32–1Frankie RandallUD12 1999-12-18Padua, ItalyRetained WBU welterweight title
32Win31–1Felix Victor VasconcelKO2 1999-07-31Catania, ItalyRetained WBU welterweight title
31Win30–1Juan Martin CoggiUD12 1999-05-29Bari, ItalyRetained WBU welterweight title
30Win29–1Sergio Ernesto AcunaUD12 1999-03-13Taranto, ItalyRetained WBU welterweight title
29Win28–1Alessandro DuranUD12 1998-10-19PalaLaforgia, Bari, ItalyRetained WBU welterweight title
28Win27–1Walter Fabian SaporitiTKO7 1998-07-18Marina di Ragusa, ItalyRetained WBU welterweight title
27Win26–1Alessandro DuranTKO5 1998-05-04PalaCatania, Catania, ItalyWon WBU welterweight title
26Win25–1Geoff McCreeshTKO9 1997-11-29Novara, ItalyWon vacant EBU welterweight title
25Win24–1Claudiu RataTKO4 1997-09-13Brindisi, ItalyWon WBU Intercontinental welterweight title
24Win23–1Milko StoikovTKO2 1997-08-16Campobello di Mazara, Italy
23Win22–1Stefan DimitrovTKO3 1997-06-12Chico-Mendez Park, Giulianova, Italy
22Win21–1Miguel Angel PenaKO2 1997-03-12Altamura, Italy
21Win20–1Jorge RamirezUD8 1996-12-18Modugno, Italy
20Win19–1Farid BennecerPTS8 1996-10-26Palaflor Corso Garibaldi, San Remo, Italy
19Win18–1Francesco CioffiUD12 1996-08-24Favignana, ItalyRetained Italian light welterweight title
18Loss17–1Søren SøndergaardUD12 1996-04-26Aalborghallen, Aalborg, DenmarkFor vacant EBU light welterweight title
17Win17–0Noe HernandezTKO4 1996-01-20Palasport, Marsala, Italy
16Win16–0Alberto AliceaTKO4 1995-09-27Circolo Citta di Roma, Petrosino, ItalyRetained IBF Inter-Continental light welterweight title
15Win15–0Franco PalmieroKO3 1995-07-21Latina, Lazio, ItalyWon vacant Italian light welterweight title
14Win14–0Benito MartinezKO8 1995-03-24Grosseto, ItalyRetained IBF Inter-Continental light welterweight title
13Win13–0Viktor BaranovUD12 1994-12-17PalaFlorio, Bari, ItalyRetained IBF Inter-Continental light welterweight title
12Win12–0Ferenc SzakallasRTD3 1994-10-29Arcidosso, Italy
11Win11–0Manuel HernandezKO4 1994-06-18Campiglia Marittima, ItalyWon IBF Inter-Continental light welterweight title
10Win10–0Luigi La GrastaTKO5 1994-03-11Ponte San Giovanni, Marche, Italy
9Win9–0Vadim PrisyazhnyukPTS8 1993-12-04Almaty, Kazakhstan
8Win8–0Eduardo JaquezUD8 1993-09-24Palasport, Roma, Italy
7Win7–0Gyorgy KincsesKO2 1993-08-20Civitavecchia, Italy
6Win6–0Pave TuricKO2 1993-05-15Bari, Italy
5Win5–0Victor MelendezPTS6 1993-04-16PalaEur, Roma, Italy
4Win4–0Tahar NasriKO1 1993-04-09Gymnase Principiano, Le Cannet, France
3Win3–0Nelson LakicevicKO2 1993-02-05Bari, Italy
2Win2–0Csaba OlahTKO3 1993-01-13Sanremo, Italy
1Win1–0Valery MonakhovKO6 1992-12-18Ponte San Giovanni, Marche, Italy