A mighty Italian, a chivalrous Englishman, taking a midnight dip and stealing Swiss fries
There is a short list of world title matches taking place in Switzerland.
In 1991, on a clear November night, a WBO title match took place less than a mile from the Swiss border in the Italian enclave of Campione D’Italia. The venue is the historic Casino di Campione, in the town on the shores of Lake Lugano. The town is surrounded by Switzerland. Surrounded in all directions.
In the ring that night was Italy’s 1984 Olympic champion, Maurizio Stecca, defending his featherweight WBO title. Stecca is a great little boxer. His challenger was Tim Driscoll, a florist from Bermondsey. It’s a fight that deserves recognition for its quality and quirky placement.
The casino where the fight took place was replaced by a huge and towering casino in 2007; it closed in 2018 and reopened earlier this year. It has a mysterious and fascinating history that goes back to the worse days of the Second World War.
The war was buried at the time and remains so to this day. I reviewed it with the italian commentary and it was great. It’s bloody and tough, but with undeniable class. The fight has been forgotten, but there’s one memorable fight in that remote resort, a trainer and lavish plane with a group of wayward boxing fans.
Driscoll’s trip (I’m sure) started in Romford, the hometown of Matchroom. I got there early and good and there were about 30 people on the coach – they were Tim’s loyal followers. Lots of Fila, white sneakers and Italian jeans. The Bermondsey Boys went on happily. The battle took place that night.
The flight is to Milan, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Campione D’Italia. There was another coach waiting for the shuttle to the Lake. We are all staying in a beautiful lodge on Lake Lugano. I was unable to earn any Italian lira. I’ve never done it at either airport; I never did that, I went the whole trip without spending a dime. I never had it to spend.
The locations are not spectacular. It’s as impressive as the last time a Fisher boxer went to a casino for a world title, where he was a major underdog. That man was Lloyd Honeyghan, and we all know what happened that night in a ballroom in Caesars Atlantic City in 1986. Denzel Bentley, from Fisher, had the same kind of confrontation with him on Saturday.
Stecca has only lost once in 43 fights, his gold medal in Los Angeles in 1984 in bantamweight is impressive. Driscoll had a good win over Steve Robinson, who at the time had a record of four wins and three losses. He dropped Robinson. He also had two ten-round fights with Johnny Good for the Southern Division featherweight title. It’s a risk, but one worth taking. The boys in the car are confident.
At the venue, Nino Benvenuti put his best Nino smile on the ring and shook hands. It is always a pleasure to be in his company. He feels like a true boxing royalty, and he is.
I had multiple newspaper assignments for the evening. I think the Sunday Express booked a phone for me. I am also working on about six other Sunday and daily newspapers. It’s a smart moneymaker who doesn’t make mistakes. No action on mobile; each newspaper has toll-free numbers from European countries and the United States. I’m Steve Bunce in one or two, Steve Early, Mark Hilton, Frank Ward and Steve Royce in the others. I’ve come to like some of my pseudonyms. Not a single copy of the word is sent through any kind of computer; All are called and dictated, and often the same person takes copies. “So, who are we tonight?” I am often asked. It was a busy night for me.
No other boxing took place in England that night, but the sport was very popular at the time; Chris Eubank had stopped Michael Watson just six weeks earlier. Watson just came out of a coma.
At the casino, the fight was stopped by Freddie King in Driscoll’s corner at the end of the ninth inning. Tim, according to the scorecard, follows the lot; he lost 89-81 twice and 88-82. It’s not overnight, nowhere near as spacious. It’s attractive, sleek and quality. Driscoll broke his nose and was cut off near his right eye. His face was swollen, but in the last seconds of the eighth round he was chasing Stecca.
Driscoll’s heart was broken in defeat. He can be proud of the nine rounds he has completed.
I submitted my copy and by the time I completed the blank, it was just a woman with a broom. Got pasta and it was great and free; I had two plates with Claude Abrams, the one-time editor of this magazine. And then we walked back under the stars, and I had to dive in the lake. I must. It was one of my first overseas matches and it meant a lot. I defended Driscoll like an amateur.
The next morning, I was a little scared when I got in the car. I was hungry after swimming, and I got crisps from the mini bar. I don’t have a lira, I’ve never paid, and I just got in the car. Driscoll loyalists began to lose their way, their bags often creaking with the unmistakable sound of glass on glass. There was a bit of muttering and then, just as the door was about to close, a woman from the front desk jumped up and, through an interpreter, started calling different people from different rooms. When she had run out of her list and emptied the bags of the men she had called, she was standing among about 100 bottles of vodka, gin, scotch and specialty liquor in the mini-bar. I escaped with my crisps. It’s not Italian work at all, but the boys did a great job. I got home late that night and still hadn’t spent a dime during my 20 hours in Las Vegas, Italy.
Driscoll had two more games and dropped out and Stecca lost the title to Colin McMillan the following year. Campione D’Italia remains in Switzerland.
