{"id":52836,"date":"2017-03-24T15:27:20","date_gmt":"2017-03-24T15:27:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mixedracestudies.org\/?p=52836"},"modified":"2017-05-17T15:38:04","modified_gmt":"2017-05-17T15:38:04","slug":"documentary-about-black-italian-boxer-who-angered-mussolini-makes-splash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mixedracestudies.org\/wp\/?p=52836","title":{"rendered":"Documentary About Black Italian Boxer Who Angered Mussolini Makes Splash"},"content":{"rendered":"

Documentary About Black Italian Boxer Who Angered Mussolini Makes Splash<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Variety<\/a>
\n2017-03-21<\/p>\n

Nick Vivarelli<\/strong><\/a>, International Correspondent<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\nCourtesy Istituto Luce<\/small><\/p>\n

ROME<\/a> \u2013\u00a0As Europe\u2019s<\/a> neo-fascists re-emerge and right-wing populism sweeps through the West, a documentary about a black Italian boxer who discredited Benito Mussolini\u2019s<\/a> racist ideology by winning a European boxing title is making a splash in Italy<\/a> and abroad.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Duce\u2019s Boxer\u201d tells the story of\u00a0Leone Jacovacci<\/a>, an African Italian born in the Congo<\/a> who won the 1928 European middleweight title by beating Mario Bosisio\u00a0<\/a>a white Italian boxer favored by the country\u2019s Fascist leaders, in front of 40,000 fans in Rome\u2019s National Stadium.<\/p>\n

An infuriated Mussolini then ordered Jacovacci and his achievement erased from Italy\u2019s history books. But 89 years later, Jacovacci\u2019s story has resurfaced, with \u201cThe Duce\u2019s Boxer\u201d premiering Tuesday in 25 Italian cities to mark the U.N. International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Based on the book \u201cBlack Roman\u201d by Italian sociologist Mauro Valeri, a former head of the country\u2019s National Xenophobia Observatory, \u201cThe Duce\u2019s Boxer\u201d is directed by first-timer Tony Saccucci<\/a>…<\/p>\n