Agostino Cossia

Agostino Cossia was the first Napoli boxer to compete at the Olympics when he was selected for the 1956 Melbourne Games by the father of Italian boxing, coach Steve Klaus. After receiving a bye in the first round of the featherweight competition, he was unfortunate to come up against the eventual gold medal winner Vladimir Safronov of the Soviet Union. Despite losing on points, Cossia had the distinction of being the only Italian boxer not to be knocked out at the Games.

Cossia began his boxing career in the Fulgor gym under the guidance of coach Geppino Silvestri, the man who guided Patrizio Oliva to Olympic gold at Moscow in 1980. After a move to the Olimpia club, and a change of coach to Nino Camerlingo, Cossia went on to twice win the Italian featherweight title.

A bricklayer by trade, Cossia turned professional in 1957 and, in a 12-month career, had 11 bouts, winning nine and drawing one. Following his death in 2016, Napoliboxe and coach Silvestri have organised an annual “Agostino Cossia Memorial“, with Cossia’s son Antonello making a contribution to the memory of his father.