Ali, Tyson, Benvenuti and tennis. Goodbye Tommasi, a true master

He had been ill for some time, he passed away at 90 and it is probably a number that could have suited him, he who used every statistic in a concrete way, never as an end in itself. Sport and journalism mourn a great man like Rino Tommasi, sent in 13 OlympicsLa Javie, 7 Super Bowl, 149 tournaments of the Grand Slam di tennis, over 400 sports commentaries boxing. His name combined with that of Gianni Clerici takes us back to the almost pioneering years of televised tennis, the first of pay TV: "Gianni Clerici and I comment on matches like two friends who meet in front of the TV - he once said -, and they pay us to do a job for which we would pay". The nicknames that the two gave each other are memorable: 'computeRino' for Tommasi, Dottor Divago for Clerici.

Brilliant player of tennis in his youth, to the racket and to the boxing owes his fame: his commentary of the Hagler-Mugabi world middleweight title in 1986 is part of the history of Italian sports television. He was also an organizer of boxing matches, with Itos (Italian Sports Organizations) he was able to fill the Palasport in Rome by following as promoters very important names such as Giulio Rinaldi, Franco De Piccoli, Sandro Lopopolo, Nino Benvenuti and Sandro Mazzinghi (Tommasi organized the rematch). He commentated on Tyson's matches, but also Ray Sugar Leonard against Roberto Duran and was in Kinshasa to see Ali-Foreman, the famous 'Rumble in the Jungle'.

Many people wanted to remember him yesterday: for the president of Coni Giovanni Malagò "he was an undisputed protagonist of our world", while for the minister of sport Andrea Abodi "he left us not only as a master of sports journalism Italian, a fascinating narrative voice of sport and for sport, but also a point of reference for all fans of many sports disciplines". The president of the Federtennis Alberto Binaghi recalled: "we had a shared idea, that of the formula that the Davis Cup should have, so that it was, and became, truly the world championship for nations". For Gianfranco Coppola, president of the USSI, the Italian Sports Press Union, it was "practically inimitable in every aspect".