Angelo Valente, kickboxing master of Sfera, Canalis, Camarda and VIPs, has died

He fought until the end with the same spirit with which he entered the ring. After an illness diagnosed in 2015, faced with courage and dignity, Angelo Valente, four-time kickboxing world champion and symbolic figure of Italian combat sports, died in Milan at the age of 51. As an athlete he had also won numerous Italian titles in kickboxing, savate and full contact, as well as taking part in two professional boxing matches in 2006, both won at middleweight. Charismatic and tireless, Valente had brought kickboxing out of niche arenas and towards the general public. In the early 2000s, when he fought in the “Kickboxing Superstar” galas, he filled the Palalido in Milan: thousands of people flocked to see him in action. An esteemed technician, in 2024 he received the Bronze Palm for technical merit from CONI, recognition as a coach and for his commitment to the diffusion of combat sports. But he was also a brilliant organizer: in 2012 he founded KickAndPunch, one of the most popular events at Italian and European level, capable of attracting champions and great international athletes.

YOUR GYM

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Once his competitive career was over, he put the same passion into teaching. His Kick and Punch gym in Pieve Emanuele, on the outskirts of Milan, had become a point of reference for athletes and enthusiasts: a place where champions and ordinary people, footballers, VIPs, personalities from the entertainment world and young people with disabilities trained side by side: from Vieri to Maldini, up to the young Camarda. Then among the other rappers Sfera Ebbasta, the comedian and actor Andrea Pucci, and Elisabetta Canalis, who thanks to him even fought twice in the ring. The actress and model remembered him with a moving message on social media: “I tell you to those who haven’t met you to explain the unique and incredible person you are. Writing about you is unbearable. I can only say thank you for what you did for me, for what you taught me and for the courage you gave me.” His gym was open to everyone, not just the athletes he trained: Valente wanted to share the sport he loved, transforming it into a space of solidarity, passion and courage. “I’m not interested in having champions, what interests me is that the right feeling is created with the athlete, of any level”, he said in an interview.