Francesco Pianeta (born 8 October 1984) is an Italian former professional boxer who competed from 2005 to 2018. He challenged once for the unified WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, The Ring magazine heavyweight titles in 2013; and once for the WBA (Regular) heavyweight title in 2015. He holds a notable win over former world heavyweight champion Oliver McCall.
Background Pianeta was born in Corigliano in the province of Cosenza. When he was six his family emigrated to Germany and his father went to work in a butcher store.
Before he turned to professional boxing Pianeta practiced Muay Thai and had a record of 9 wins and one loss.
Despite being a long-time Germany resident, Pianeta has held close ties with Italy and in 2008 he stated that his ambition was to win the Italian heavyweight title.
Professional career Pianeta's first fight as a professional boxer was in July 2005, in Hessen, Germany, when he beat Slovak journeyman Sylvester Petrovič with a second round knockout.
Pianeta was subsequently undefeated in all of his next 27 fights, with 14 wins by KO and 1 draw.
On 4 May 2013, Pianeta fought Wladimir Klitschko for WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, lineal & The Ring heavyweight titles. He was knocked down 3 times by Klitschko and lost the bout by the way of TKO.
Up until 2018, Pianeta was trained by Alexander Petkovic and promoted by Petkovic's Petko's LMS Promotion. Based in Germany, he has also fought in Italy, Ireland, Austria, Poland and Belgium.
Pianeta's final fight was against former unified and lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury at Windsor Park on 18 August 2018. Fury dominated the fight in convincing fashion, winning every single round on referee Steve Gray's scorecard in a shutout points decision victory, handing Pianeta his fifth career loss.
In February 2019, Pianeta announced his retirement. He is now a boxing trainer.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes41LossTyson FuryPTS1018 Aug 201840Loss35–4–1Petar MilasUD1016 Jun 201839Win35–3–1Dašo SimeunovićTKO3 (6), 10 Mar 201838Loss34–3–1Kevin JohnsonTKO7 (10), 14 Oct 201737Win34–2–1Oezcan CetinkayaTKO2 (10), 8 Jul 201736Win33–2–1Edi DelibaltaogluTKO3 (6), 17 Jun 201735Win32–2–1Hasan OlakiTKO5 (6)20 Feb 201634Loss31–2–1Ruslan ChagaevKO1 (12), 12 Jul 201533Win31–1–1Ivica BačurinUD126 Dec 201432Win30–1–1Mickael VieiraKO1 (12), 30 May 201431Win29–1–1Robert TeuberTKO2 (10), 6 Dec 201330Loss28–1–1Wladimir KlitschkoTKO6 (12), 4 May 201329Win28–0–1Nelson Dario DominguezTKO1 (10), 16 Nov 201228Win27–0–1Frans BothaUD107 Sep 201227Win26–0–1Oliver McCallUD1016 May 201226Win25–0–1Zack PagePTS87 Jan 201225Win24–0–1Robert HawkinsPTS821 Oct 201124Win23–0–1Ivica PerkovićTKO3 (8), 2 Apr 201123Win22–0–1Samir KurtagićUD812 Feb 201122Win21–0–1Mike MiddletonKO1 (8), 18 Dec 201021Win20–0–1Evgeny OrlovUD85 Dec 200920Win19–0–1Matt SkeltonRTD8 (12), 19 Sep 200919Draw18–0–1Albert Sosnowski124 Apr 200918Win18–0Johann DuhaupasUD1220 Dec 200817Win17–0Scott Gammer8 (12), 30 Aug 200816Win16–0Michael MarroneTKO2 (10), 17 May 200815Win15–0Donnell WigginsKO3 (10), 16 Feb 200814Win14–0Paolo FerraraUD829 Dec 200713Win13–0Leo SanchezTKO2 (8)24 Nov 200712Win12–0Colin WilsonUD829 Sep 200711Win11–0Miyan SolomonsUD823 Jun 200710Win10–0Paolo Ferrara814 Apr 20079Win9–0Aleksandrs Borhovs825 Mar 20078Win8–0Georgi HarizanovKO2 (6)17 Feb 20077Win7–0Cerrone FoxTKO3 (8)20 Jan 20076Win6–0Valentin MarinelTKO1 (6), 25 Nov 20065Win5–0Vlado Szabo611 Aug 20064Win4–0Dirk MandelartzKO1 (6)20 May 20063Win3–0Ervin SlonkaTKO2 (4)29 Apr 20062Win2–0Tomáš Mrázek2 (4)11 Mar 20061Win1–0Sylvester Petrovič2 (4), 2 Jul 2005
References
External links Francesco Pianeta - Official website