Riccardo Bertazzolo

Riccardo Bertazzolo was an Italian boxer. As an amateur he competed at the 1924 Paris Olympics and was beaten in the quarter-finals of the heavyweight division by the Norwegian Otto Von Porat, the eventual gold medalist. Bertazzolo suffered a defeat in his pro début by disqualification but then recorded victories in 16 of his next 17 fights which included wins over the future European champion Pierre Charles as well as a number of other good fighters. This earned him a European title fight against Britain’s Phil Scott at the Royal Albert Hall in London in January 1927 where the Italian was once again disqualified.

In his next fight Bertazzolo ousted Erminio Spalla from his position of Italian champion. Unfortunately, after a draw with George Cook and a defeat in Denmark against Knute Hansen, Bertazzolo was banned by the F.P.I. (the Italian Boxing Federation) for his behaviour during quarrels with his manager and stripped him of his championship. In 1929 Bertazzolo left for America where he began his stay with a trio of victories but then lost against several prominent contenders like Johnny Risko, Ted Sandwina and Charley Retzlaff . He also fought future world champion Primo Carnera in a bout contested between the two best Italian heavyweights of the time in Atlantic City. Bertazzolo was a colourful figure who would take his pet lion for walks around the streets of Milano and had a tattoo of a woman on his chest so, he claimed, his more chivalrous opponents would avoid so as not to be seen striking a woman.