Ernesto Formenti

Ernesto Formenti was an Italian boxer who was the son of a carpenter and came from a humble background. As a youngster, he was very slightly built, shy and quiet, and worked as an apprentice in a machine shop. He played football as a young boy but, at the age of 17, was diagnosed with scoliosis (curvature of the spine). It was suggested that he start going to a gym and it was then that his life changed after meeting Gigi De Laurentis, master of the Accademia Pugilistica Seregnese, and he immediately saw that Formenti had a natural talent for boxing.

At 18, Formenti boxed competitively amongst youth fighters and became the local 51kg champion. After the War, he won the 1947 Lombardy featherweight title and, a year later, was the Italian champion, which secured his place on the Italian team for the London Olympics. Despite suffering a small fracture in his left hand during his opening bout, Formenti went on to beat the South African Dennis Shepherd and secure what was Italy’s 64th Summer Olympics gold medal.

At Chicago in 1949, Formenti won the Golden Gloves, and in July of the same year he turned professional. He enjoyed 18 consecutive wins before losing to a third round knockout by Alvaro Cerasani on 6 September 1950 at Milano. Three months later Formenti became Italian Featherweight champion, beating Cerasani in the return match and, in 1952, he fought out a draw against the French European champion Ray Famechon. The following year Formenti came up against the great Duilio Loi who beat him with ease on two occasions, at Grosseto and Milano. At 27-years-old, Formenti announced his retirement in 1954.

Formenti spent 10 years as an instructor at the Accademia Pugilistica Seregnese, at Ginnastica Comense, and at the Accademia Pugilistica of Cesano Maderno. He was appointed a Knight of the Republic for sporting merits before his death from cancer at the age of 62. At the school complex of Cassino Savina in his home-town, there is a bronze bust of him, sculptured by Antonio Denova.