Erminio Spalla

Erminio Spalla

Erminio Spalla in the 1920s
Statistics
Nickname(s) Occhiovivo
Rated at Heavyweight
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Nationality  Italy
Born 7 July 1897
Borgo San Martino, Italy
Died 14 August 1971 (aged 74)
Rome, Italy
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights 56
Wins 42
Wins by KO 31
Losses 10
Draws 3

Erminio Spalla (7 July 1897 – 14 August 1971) was an Italian professional heavyweight boxer, film actor and singer. He was the first Italian to win a European boxing title, which he has done in 1923. He lost it in 1926 to Paulino Uzcudun and retired from boxing next year, though he briefly returned to the ring in 1934 and won all three of his final bouts.[1] As an actor he appeared in over fifty films, including the war film Giarabub (1942).[2] His elder brother Giuseppe was also a boxer.[3]

Spalla studied fine arts in Brera, when in 1910 he saw a film footage of the world boxing championships and decided to become a professional boxer. He returned to art after retiring from the ring. In October 1937 he debuted as an opera singer in Nel Trovatore in Turin.[3] The same year he tried himself in sculpture and painting, and in 1939 acted in his first film, Io, suo padre by Mario Bonnard. This followed by over fifty films and television series, the last being I fratelli Karamazov by Sandro Bolchi (1969).[2]

Selected filmography

References

  1. ↑ Page, Joseph S. (2010) Primo Carnera: The Life and Career of the Heavyweight Boxing Champion. McFarland. p. 15
  2. 1 2 Pisani, Leonardo (24 December 2014) Erminio Spalla: il primo vero campione del pugilato italiano. boxenews.com
  3. 1 2 Erminio Spalla. Boxrec

External links

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