Irma Testa: “First the Olympic gold and then I will conquer New York”

Under a glorious present, above a past full of great successes and splendid memories. It is as if Italian boxing were enclosed in this marvel which is the federal center of Santa Maria degli Angeli, between the jewel gym on the ground floor – people come from all over the world to train here – and an unmissable museum distributed between the first and second floors. Assisi is up there, behind the glass windows, at the top of the hill. The silence of the early afternoon, even down below, is good for the spirit. Like the availability of Glenda, a modern “Virgil” who opens the doors.

His corner

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Irma Testa, before the second daily ration of weights, bags and square, in turn visits the upper floors. “How many relics there are – she says with conviction – it’s as if I had never been there”. From Benvenuti to Zamparini, from Musone to Damiani, from Rosi to Cardamone, from Duran to Cammarelle and Russo: boxing gloves, uniforms, photos (there are over 40,000) and various publications. Only Maurizio Stecca has recently come to pick up his memorabilia: who knows what’s cooking. “I hope one day there will also be a corner dedicated to my exploits – says Irma, admired -: I will have to deserve it”. Italian first Olympic (in Rio 2016) and first medalist at the Games (bronze in Tokyo 2021), after the second European gold in October and the first world championship at the end of March, no one would be shocked if it were already set up.

His world

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Irma, long nails painted in purple (“when I pull they sometimes break, they bleed, but I like it that way”), here she is at home. “I moved from Torre Annunziata, in the Provolera district, in 2012 – she recalls – and until last year I lived in the private hotel-villa that serves as the federal headquarters. Then, although many were sceptical, I took the leap and now, without taking advantage of the quota that would be due to me, I live in rent in Rivotorto, a hamlet from which, if I wasn’t lazy, I could get to the federal center on foot. I do the shopping and cleaning, I cook and manage Tokyo, a beagle that I am very fond of. When I go away I leave it at a nearby kindergarten, but I miss it a lot. I often have company: numerous friends of the Nazionale “escape” willingly, but they don’t have the desire or the courage to set up on their own. Even people with wives, husbands and children…”. Torre and Naples, however, are in her heart. “I live with the films of Martone, Sorrentino and Servillo – he reveals – and I’m obsessed with Peppino di Capri. I went to Torre for Easter: Naples, with the scudetto on its way, is euphoric. But leaving mom, when I leave, is increasingly difficult. She cries, like she never has. She is 46 years old, maybe she is getting old. I also went to Boxe Vesuviana, where I started and from my first teacher Lucio Zurlo: I brought him the world championship medal. However, after three or four days, I feel the physical need to return to Assisi, to that inner peace that I have built over time, away from the noise and confusion, in the tranquility of the gymnasium. Mom, eleven years old, came here one day for a match. She promised me that she will come back. Where do I see myself in the future? In Naples it would be nice, but I’d also like to stay in boxing and in the Police: the world of investigation fascinates me. However, I have clear ideas about certain things: I want crazy love, a happy family with many children, a garden with a fireplace, a comfortable sofa and two dogs. If you feel comfortable in private life, work is secondary”. Even among the sixteen strings, with his fencing that is poetry, projects are born: “Guided as for ten years now by Emanuele Renzini, much more than a master, the goal – he explains – passing through the June qualifiers in Poland , it’s the Paris 2024 Olympics. The desire, then, the transition to professionalism. And the dream of a match at Madison Square Garden”.

The fists

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Irma, as we know, is not afraid to expose herself, to deal with sensitive issues. “The athlete who wins – she explains – can act as a sounding board on many important topics. And for me, as long as it’s content I know and there’s no exploitation, it’s a privilege. Italy, above all, is in the vanguard, but in terms of rights, for example, it is at a standstill. And if whoever should do it doesn’t move, it’s right that we do it”. In the light of this consideration, a few months after winning the Olympic medal, the choice to declare one’s homosexuality: “I did it thinking of the weakest – he recalls – those who don’t have or cannot have a voice. Just as, for the same reason, I said I was in favor of same-sex marriages or surrogate wombs. Moreover, these are complex issues, which should not be dismissed in a few words. But let me be clear: I’m not looking for titles, covers or advertisements: otherwise I would use social media, which I practically don’t do”. Some punches don’t just leave their mark in the ring.