On October 25 at Allianz Cloud in Milan, Italy, IBF International super middleweight champion Daniele Scardina (17-0 with 14 KOs) will defend against two-time Belgian champion Ilias Achergui (13-4-1 with 6 KOs) on the 10 rounds distance.
The show is promoted by Opi Since 82, Matchroom Boxing Italy and streaming service DAZN which will broadcast it live in Italy, USA, Canada, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Spain.
While born and raised in Rozzano, close to Milan, Daniele Scardina lives in Miami Beach and trains at legendary 5th Street Gym under coach Dino Spencer who has been in boxing for several decades, was a good friend of Angelo Dundee and met many times Muhammad Ali.
Besides working with Scardina, Dino Spencer is also one of his closest friends. Scardina said that he considers Spencer a member of his family. That’s why Spencer is the best person to talk about Scardina.
Mr. Spencer, are you happy with the results of Daniele Scardina’s training?
“I’m very happy. Daniele trains with great passion. He likes it and always wants to do more than necessary. Last week I told him to run for 20 minutes and he told me that he wanted to run for 1 hour. I had to explain him that overtraining is dangerous especially a few days from the fight. Same story when I told him to do 8 rounds with 2 different sparring partners (4 rounds each). Daniele wanted to spar more. I had to remember him that the October 25 fight is on the 10 rounds distance and therefore the job that he is doing is enough. If it was up to him, Daniele would train 24/7. That’s why I consider him a real fighter and I’m sure that he will make it big.”
You have a father/son relationship with Daniele. Why?
“Because that’s the kind of relationship I like to build with my fighters. In a family, people discuss, argue, yell, but stay united. In a business relationship, if a fighter doesn’t like his coach he will find another one.”
In sunny Miami Beach training seriously must be difficult. Fighters have too many temptations. How did you solve that problem?
“Convincing my fighters to live like Spartans. They train and rest. Period. They will have time to have fun after their professional career in boxing. Right now, a big event for them is coming to my house to watch a major fight on television. We talk, commentate the fight and build team spirit. By the way, Daniele is not my only Italian fighter. I also train Matteo Papa from Varese (not far from Milan) who has a professional record of 5-0 in the welterweight division. My door for Italian fighters is always open as I am Italian-American: my ancestors are from Corleone and Piana degli Albanesi, in Sicily. I grew up admiring Italian champions like Nino Benvenuti.”
