By Per-Åke Persson
Italian amateur great Clemente Russo is booked to turn pro on November 21 in Milan and take on undefeated prospect Mohamed Elmaghraby (15-0) in a fight scheduled for eight rounds on a show promoted by TAF (The Art of Fighting). The weight for the fight has not been announced.
In his younger days, Russo participated in the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games and won silver medals in 2008 and 2012, losing in the finals to Rakhim Chakhiev in 2008 and Oleksandr Usyk in 2012.
He also won gold at two World Championships and participated in the World Series of Boxing before retiring in 2021.
How serious he is about his professional career remains to be seen, but it is fair to say the 44-year-old doesn’t have time on his side.
Elmaghraby won the Italian light heavyweight title last year but is relatively untested.
