The Rome native had capped off a stellar amateur career with an appearance for Team Italy in the 2016 Rio Olympics, and the next step was a job – seemingly for life – with the police department.
The Texas-based Primo had released clips of his unique form of “pizza wrestling” before and received positive feedback for a style that includes tossing of dough and moves affectionally titled “Rolling out the crust,” “Topping the pizza” and, of course, his finishing move, “The Pizza Cutter.” All of the above are punctuated by an over-the-top Italian accent and a chef’s apron to complete the package.
It wasn’t 94,000 fans filling Wembley Stadium for Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte in April, or even 19,000-plus packing Madison Square Garden a week later for Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano, but when 37-year-old former super middleweight champion Giovanni De Carolis turned back the clock to hand Daniele Scardina his first pro loss in front of 5,000 people in a sold-out Milan Arena, it was a sign that maybe the sport of boxing is still alive and well in Italy.