The step from the pinnacle of glory in the ring to the disgrace of prison can be a very short one.
It certainly was for Loris Stecca: the youngest Italian, European, and world boxing champion Italy has ever had. In 1984, at just 24 years old, he was on top of the world; today, he works as a garbage collector for a cooperative that provides community service jobs, after serving an 8-year sentence for attempted murder.
A merciless downfall that began in the aftermath of the only fight Loris ever lost in the ring—against the Puerto Rican Victor Callejas, the perfect nemesis for a sporting career lived with the fury of an attacking boxer. In victory and, above all, in defeat. Thus, after reaching the pinnacle during a season of successes that made his hometown of Rimini dream, enriched sponsors and commercial TV networks, and made all of Italy fall in love with boxing, Loris sank into the furious abyss of a reversed fate, dragging his dearest loved ones down with him. Starting with his brother Maurizio, himself a great boxing champion and gold medalist at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, yet profoundly different in temperament and fighting style. Loris’s life was one of extremes, marked by the blinding lights of a spotlight that no longer shines. Today, with the lights out, that burdensome past returns as the final opponent he must face.