Michele di Rocco (born 4 May 1982) is an Italian professional boxer of Romani origin. He is a former European and European Union super-lightweight champion, and has challenged once for the WBA super-lightweight title. As an amateur he won a bronze medal at the 2002 European Championships and represented Italy at the 2004 Olympics, both in the lightweight division.

Quick Facts Born, Nationality ...

Michele di Rocco
Born	(1982-05-04) 4 May 1982 (age 42) Foligno, Umbria, Italy
Nationality	Italian
Other names	The King
Statistics
Weight(s)	Light-welterweight
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	45
Wins	41
Wins by KO	18
Losses	3
Draws	1
Medal record Men's amateur boxing Representing  Italy Mediterranean Games 2001 Tunis Lightweight European Championships 2002 Perm Lightweight

Close

On 2 October 2004, di Rocco made his professional debut against Marian Bunea, stopping him in four rounds. He won his first regional championship—the European Union super-lightweight title—on 26 December 2006, defeating Giorgio Marinelli via unanimous decision (UD). One defence of the title was made a month later, on 30 January 2007, when di Rocco travelled to Finland and scored a UD over Juho Tolppola. On 21 September 2007, di Rocco lost his title to veteran and fellow Italian Giuseppe Lauri, who stopped him in seven rounds. In a rematch five years later, on 14 April 2012, di Rocco stopped Lauri in one round to regain his now-vacant title.^[1]

Di Rocco's career highlight came on 8 June 2013, when he defeated Lenny Daws via UD to win the vacant European super-lightweight title. However, the decision was highly disputed by Daws.^[2] Four successful defences were made of the title over the following two years. On 28 May 2016, di Rocco travelled to Scotland to face former two-weight world champion Ricky Burns, with the vacant WBA super-lightweight title on the line. In a very one-sided fight where di Rocco was knocked down twice, Burns won by stopping him in the eighth round.^[3]