“It’s a punch straight to the stomach, the kind that leaves you breathless.” To say it Clemente Russo, a boxer, one who knows how to collect and then resume a challenge: in the ring, a bit like in life, he doesn’t give up. This is the philosophy of Tatanka, who at the age of 39 wanted to fulfill her dream of participating in her fifth Olympics: for one of the ‘noble art’, a record in the history of the Games. Instead, except for miracles, Russo will not be there because the IOC has denied him the wild card for sporting merits (two Olympic silver and two world golds) good for Tokyo and also the possibility of getting on the plane that will take the seven blues ( two men and five women) left in contention who will play their chances in the qualifiers (the only ones to be played) in the ring of the Grand Dome in Villerbon-sur-Yvette, 20 kilometers southwest of Paris.
An injustice, because in the 2020 tournament in London, then interrupted by the pandemic, Russo was unable to fight due to health problems. “That they weren’t an indisposition – he now points out speaking to Ansa – but a fever I had had for days. In spite of everything, I wanted to fight, but I just didn’t make it. I thought I had an infection, but then when I returned to Italy I discovered I had Covid, and I was very ill. But there weren’t even swabs in London, because the virus had spread for too little time ».
It is useless to hope in the request of the FPI and that of the Coni, with the president Giovanni Malagò who spent himself personally: the IOC task force said no, and Russo will not fly to Japan. No wild card, if needed, only the international ranking will count, «which by the way – says the Campania fighter – is bogus, since there are two of them and one refers to 2017. Among other things, I, between a family commitment and the other with my three girls, I fought in the World Series, whose results are not valid for the ranking: in short, an absurdity, also because boxing is not judo where you fight only according to the international ranking ». But not for this Clemente gives up, it is not in his nature. “I do not give up. I will continue to train until the last useful day – he says -, which almost coincides with my birthday (27 July ed), hoping for a call at the last moment from Tokyo if there will be a box to fill: I owe it to boxing, which he has given me so much. ‘ Already boxing, perhaps of great traditions such as the Italian one but now living a not too happy moment: in Tokyo there is a real risk that, for the first time, there will be no Azzurri in men’s boxing.
The path in the qualifications of the last two remaining in contention, Simone Fiori (81 kg) and Aziz Mouhiidine (91 kg) appears very difficult, given the opponents waiting for them. «It’s a shame, but this is a moment of generational change – explains Russo -, after the team’s achievements with Cammarelle, me, Picardi and Mangiacapre. But I train with the boys of now, and I am an older brother for them: I can guarantee that they are good, and you will see that Italy will return to high levels already in Paris 2024 ». Maybe with a teacher like ‘Tatanka’, who if the dream fades Tokyo will hang up his gloves but will remain in the environment: “I’ll think about giving something back to the sport that has always given me so much – he says -, and which is the North Star of my life and that of my loved ones. And then Janet, one of my daughters, has already chosen boxing, and if good blood doesn’t lie, I’ll be back at ringside soon. ”