Italian legend dies in crash

Italian Olympic and former double world champion Giovanni Parisi has been killed in a car crash.

Double world champion Parisi passes away after road accident

Italian former double world champion Giovanni Parisi has been killed in a car crash. The Italian Olympic Committee confirmed the news in a statement on Thursday. The accident took place on Wednesday evening when the car Parisi was driving collided with a truck carrying electrical goods in Voghera in the Pavia region of Italy. The 42-year-old, who was originally from the Calabria region, is reported to have died instantly. Parisi was regarded as the finest Italian boxer of his generation and claimed gold in the featherweight category at the Seoul Olympics in 1988. In the professional ranks he went on to secure the WBO lightweight title in 1992 and the WBO light welterweight belt in 1996. In the biggest fight of his career, Parisi lost a unanimous points decision when he challenged Mexican legend Julio Cesar Chavez for the WBC light-welterweight crown in 1995.