- dead April 4, 2009 in Florence, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

) was a former boxer

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

 who holds the distinction of being the first, and so far only, world boxing champion to be deaf. On April 4, 2009, D'Agata died at the age of 83.

Background

D'Agata became an example to many in his native Italy, where some boxing fans still regard him as a hero. In addition to enduring those disabilities, he also had to survive an attempt on his life before becoming a world champion, as he was shot in the chest by a business partner in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. This cost him a shot at the world Bantamweight title held by Raul Macias

Raul Macias

Raúl Macías Guevara was a former Mexican boxer, actor, and boxing trainer. Born in the same Mexico City barrio as Rubén Olivares, Macías had always expressed pride at being Mexican...

.

Early life

D'Agata had a tough childhood as a consequence of his disabilities, as many children in school would tease him. Feeling the need to prove himself equal, he resorted to street fighting as a way to demonstrate his equality. D' Agata was one of three children (out of seven) to be born deaf in his family. His parents moved him from Tuscany

Tuscany

Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....

 to Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 at an early age, hoping that they would find doctors who would cure D'Agata.

Boxing career

D'Agata was at a cafe sipping a drink one afternoon when he saw a poster of a boxer which adorned a door to a boxing gym. He walked in, and was enamored with how the boxers practiced their fighting in a polished, stylized way. D'Agata was drawn into boxing from that moment on.

World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 soon broke out all over Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, however, and D'Agata had to wait until he was 20 years old to fight as an amateur. In 1946, he began an amateur career that saw him win 90 out of 110 bouts. On October 14 of 1950, he turned professional, defeating Giuseppe Saladari by decision in six rounds.

D'Agata built a record of 10-0 with 1 knockout

Knockout

A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...

 before suffering his first loss, at the hands of Romolo Re, August 2 of 1951, by a decision in ten. Another loss to Re would follow, but D'Agata was able to build a 19-3-2 record with 4 knockouts before challenging for the Italian Bantamweight title. On September 27, 1953, he beat Gianni Zuddas by a disqualification in round nine to earn that belt. After five more wins, he travelled to Tunisia

Tunisia

Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...

, where he met the future world champion Robert Cohen

Robert Cohen

Robert Cohen is a Canadian comedy writer. He was raised in Calgary, Alberta and has written for The Simpsons , The Wonder Years, The Ben Stiller Show, MADtv, Just Shoot Me!, Father of the Pride, and American Dad!...

, losing a ten round decision. After two more wins, he embarked on what would have been a long tour of Australia—a trip cut short after three wins when he was shot by his associate.

D'Agata then returned to Italy, where he was no longer recognized as champion. On May 25, 1955, he defeated Arthur Emboule by decision in eight rounds, in his first bout after the shooting. After eight more wins in a row (which raised his winning streak to a total of thirteen wins in a row), he was given a shot at the European Bantamweight title by Andre Valignat on October 29 of the same year, and he defeated Valignat by a fifth round disqualification.

On June 29, 1956, D' Agata finally received his world title opportunity, when former conqueror Cohen gave him a chance to win the world Bantamweight title in Rome. D' Agata made his dream come true by knocking Cohen out in six rounds in front of 38,000 fans, many of whom rushed to the ring the moment the fight was over, carrying D' Agata out of the ring on their arms. With that win, D' Agata made history as the first deaf world champion of boxing.

D'Agata went to Paris to defend his title for the first time, on April 1, 1957, against local challenger Alphonse Halimi

Alphonse Halimi

Alphonse Halimi was a French boxer. He was nicknamed "la Petite Terreur."Time wrote of him: "Alphonse went to work with a street fighter's will. A grown-up guttersnipe from the back alleys of Algeria...

. Special lights had been set specially for this fight, so that D'Agata, who could not hear the bell after each round, would be able to tell when each round was finished. These lights would flash the moment the bell rang. There was a storm on the day of the fight, which was held in an open air area. Lightning struck one of the special lights in round three, and D'Agata was struck by sparkles, suffering a burned neck and back. It was decided the fight would go on, and D'Agata tried to defy the odds for the remaining of the fight, but he lost the title by a fifteen round decision.

D'Agata never received a rematch from Halimi. He then fought on with mixed success, until August 1, 1962, when he announced his retirement. He was able to stay away from boxing for the rest of his life.

D'Agata had a record of 54 wins, 10 losses and 3 draws, with 22 wins by knockout.

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