Olympics Boxing Beijing.com

Rocky Gattelari's Olympic Dream

by Leigh Bottrell

Rock got bumped off the Australian Olympic boxing team for the 1960 Rome Olympics in his old country when he was 18 and a naturalised Australian living in Cabramatta. He was a dago, a wog, and although he had just won the Australian amateur flyweight title he was declared a no-no by officials.

He fought for the world title against Salvatore Burruni in front of 35,000 screaming (largely anti-Rocky) fans at the old Sydney Showgrounds in an outdoor blockbuster that ended in the 13th of a scheduled 15 rounds. Rocky went into the fight with a broken hand and was ahead when Burruni nailed him a couple of times and Rock couldn't hold him off one-handed. It was stopped.

Rocky and his family had been so confident of winning that they had set up a huge celebratory post fight party at a very high profile society lady's place.

A lot of Rock's so-called supporters didn't turn up and they rubbished him in the media next day for dogging it - still unaware that he had gone in with a broken hand. But Rock, his brother Lucky (later Australian pro featherweight champion), another brother Frank (a better fighter than Rocky or Lucky, who gave it away early to concentrate on building up a very successful electrician's business) and various glamorous ladies DID. It was a BIG night.

Rock continued to hog the headlines in and out of the ring. He was by far Australia's best-known, best-hated, best-loved boxer of his era. He was a little dago bloke who dared to take on the amateur establishment, the media, the public and the government. And it made him the money he fought for to secure the future of his parents and to marry Millie and start a family.

He was from Calabria, Millie from Rome. He met her in Italy during a visit and they were married in a lavish ceremony that didn't necessarily meet with the approval of either family. Rock and Millie have two very smart and attractive daughters.

Rocky's boxing career ended one dreadful night at the Sydney Sports Ground at the killer fists of a young and superbly fit and talent Lionel Rose. Lionel, whom I also know and like, was not yet 21, but was newly crowned world bantamweight champion after destroying Fighting Harada in Japan. Rocky unwisely went up a division to fight Lionel while crook with a virus. He was smashed before it was stopped in the fifth or six round, and Rock was rushed tdo St Vincent's Hospital. Rocky later swore that he had been nobbled before the fight with drugs that he'd thought were for his virus, but which turned him into a zombie.

Things looked very bad for him as he was stretchered into an ambulance. But the media and public howled that he got what he deserved, being a loudmouthed little dago upstart. And, of course, Lionel being a native born (Aboriginal) Aussie hero.

But, as ever, he bounced back. He retired from the ring, and became a media celebratory as a commentator, gadfly and general bigmouth!

He went into restaurants (he started the first Berowra Waters Inn), went broke with Lucky in another one called Rocky's at Edgecliff, made a shameful and embarrassing "comeback" with Lucky on the same Hordern Pavilion bill to raise money to pay off creditors, became a very successful finance broker, and even got himself disendorsed as State Liberal Party candidate for Cabramatta after he unthinkingly said he'd "kick Reba Meagher's arse" in the election. She sued him, could you believe (yes, you could if you know anything about Meagher and NSW ALP politics).

Rocky wrote a very good autobiography a few years ago, titled "The Rocky Road." I haven't seen or spoken with him for quite a while. He lives at Forresters Beach on the Central Coast now, although the family home is still in Cabramatta.

Leigh Bottrell A journalist for almost 50 years, in Australia and internationally, Leigh is still a contributor to the Sydney Morning Herald. Leigh is also Director of GreenAbility Pty. Ltd. - a cutting-edge environmental research and development group.

Catching Up With Cooper And Ali
"He was a very nice guy," he told me. "Great sense of h...
catching-up-with-cooper-and-ali.php

Proud As Punch
The loin-cloth clad competitors were in for the kill - literall...
proud-as-punch.php

I've Been Conferred An Obe
I am ''doing the pads'' with a youngster when I feel a light tap on the shoulder. It's this grey-haired father of a ...
i've-been-conferred-an-obe.php

Is Amateur Boxing Really Boxing
It has been too long since I was involved to try and talk about rules, regulations and scoring systems etc. What ha...
is-amateur-boxing-really-boxing.php

Blood, Sweat, And Broken Noses
Like these people? I had made the mistake of assuming that this spor...
blood,-sweat,-and-broken-noses.php

For The Love Of Boxing
And I enjoy watching the fights even better in the company of Bugsy, especially ...
for-the-love-of-boxing.php

The Beijing Nine Fighting For Oz
Competing in their second Olympic Games are Anthony Little,...
the-beijing-nine-fighting-for-oz.php

The Great And Humble Joe Louis
But I will tell you something that shows the Brown Bomber was a decent, h...
the-great-and-humble-joe-louis.php

Why Alex Ramos Never Won Olympic Gold
I could talk about the way young men are taken from poverty and poor education and ...
why-alex-ramos-never-won-olympic-gold.php

Fight A Priest, Trust A Fighter
Before the match we had to wish them success in the dressing-room. Sometimes ...
fight-a-priest,-trust-a-fighter.php

Those Unforgettable Games
A remembered line from my report at the 1956 Olympic Games, the day the boxing gave way to gymnastics. My first big ...
those-unforgettable-games.php

Lionel Rose, My Boyhood Hero
Mr. Rose was a regular visitor to Maurie's house behind ...
lionel-rose,-my-boyhood-hero.php