Frank Chamizo

Frank Chamizo Marquez (born 10 July 1992) is a Cuban-Italian freestyle wrestler who competes at 74 kilograms. Starting his career in Cuba, Chamizo became a World Cup champion, World Championship medalist, and Pan American champion at 55 kilograms in 2010 and 2011 before immigrating to Italy in 2011 Since then, Chamizo became the greatest Italian wrestler of all time, racking up two World Championships (in 2015 at 65kg and 2017 at 70kg, plus a silver medal in 2019), an Olympic bronze medal in 2016, an Individual World Cup silver medal, a European Games silver medal, four European Championships, and others. He also holds wins over a record 12 World and Olympic champions.

Chamizo is known for his rivalry with seven-time Olympic and World champion Jordan Burroughs, against whom he has gone 2–4, but winning the last match.

Personal life

Chamizo had a trying childhood. He grew up in poverty and was raised by his grandmother because both his parents lived abroad. He began wrestling at age seven after walking into a wrestling facility out of curiosity. The Cuban government eventually recognized his talent and helped him attend a secondary school where he could continue wrestling. In addition to his native Spanish, Chamizo is fluent in Italian and can also speak English.

Career in Cuba

In 2010, Chamizo won a world bronze medal for Cuba; he was only 18 at the time. The next year, he returned to the world championships, where he placed 12th. After the 2011 World Wrestling Championships, however, Cuba's wrestling federation suspended him for two years for alleged difficulties with weight management. At a crossroads, he moved to Italy, where his ex-wife is from.

Career in Italy

In 2015, Chamizo made his world debut for Italy and won a gold medal. Before then, no Italian had won a world or Olympic freestyle wrestling gold medal since 1980.

From there, Chamizo won three more world-level medals, including a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics and a gold medal at the 2017 world competition. Overall, Chamizo won four world-level medals for Italy and two world-level championships.

At the 2022 World Wrestling Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, he won the bronze medal by defeating Soner Demirtaş 5-3 in the men's freestyle 74 kg third-place match, but his medal was canceled due to doping and given to Soner Demirtaş. He was only suspended for three months.

He won the silver medal at the 2023 European Wrestling Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, losing 3-1 to Tajmuraz Salkazanov of Slovakia in the men's freestyle 74 kg final match. He reached the final by defeating Dzhabrail Gadzhiev of Azerbaijan 9-4 in the second round, Soner Demirtaş 8-6 in the quarterfinals, and Ali-Pasha Umarpashaev of Bulgaria 9-0 in the semifinals.

Chamizo competed at the 2024 European Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan hoping to qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. He was eliminated in his fourth match and he did not qualify for the Olympics due to controversial judging. Several days later Chamizo claimed he was offered a bribe of 300 thousand dollars to deliberately lose a match, an offer that he rejected. Weeks after the tournament, the refereeing body that officiated the match were suspended by the UWW, however, the result could not be changed.

Freestyle record

Freestyle matches
Res.	Record	Opponent	Score	Date	Event	Location
2023 World Championships at 74 kg
Loss	160-30	Daichi Takatani	2-7	29–30 March 2022	2023 World Wrestling Championships	Belgrade, Serbia
2023 European Championships at 74 kg
Loss	160-29	Tajmuraz Salkazanov	1-3	29–30 March 2022	2022 European Wrestling Championships	Zagreb, Croatia
Win	160-28	Ali-Pasha Umarpashaev	9-0
Win	159–28	Soner Demirtaş	8-6
Win	158–28	Khadzhimurad Gadzhiyev	9-4
2022 World Championships at (stripped) 74 kg
Win	157–28	Soner Demirtaş	5-3	29–30 March 2022	2022 World Wrestling Championships	Belgrade, Serbia
Loss	156–28	Tajmuraz Salkazanov	0-3
Win	156–27	Khetag Tsabolov	6-3
Win	155–27	Lee Seung-bong	11-4
Win	154–27	Giorgi Sulava	14-8
2022 European Championships at 74 kg
Loss	153–27	Tajmuraz Salkazanov	7–5	29–30 March 2022	2022 European Continental Championships	Budapest, Hungary
Win	153–26	Hrayr Alikhanyan	7–1
Win	152–26	Soner Demirtaş	WO (5–0)
Win	151–26	Giorgi Sulava	10–2
2020 Summer Olympics 5th at 74 kg
Loss	150–26	Kyle Dake	0–5	5–6 August 2021	2020 Summer Olympics	Tokyo, Japan
Loss	150–25	Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov	7–9
Win	150–24	Turan Bayramov	3–1
Win	149–24	Avtandil Kentchadze	5–1
2021 Poland Open at 74 kg
Loss		Mostafa Hosseinkhani	INJ	9 June 2021	2021 Poland Open	Warsaw, Poland
Win	148–24	Semen Radulov	5–4
Win	147–24	Daniyar Kaisanov	2–0
Win	146–24	Lucas Kahnt	7–2
2021 European Championships at 74 kg
Win	145–24	Razambek Zhamalov	5–1	19–21 April 2021	2021 European Continental Championships	Warsaw, Poland
Win	144–24	Avtandil Kentchadze	8–2
Win	143–24	Marc Dietsche	TF 12–1
Loss	142–24	Tajmuraz Salkazanov	2–6
Win	142–23	Daniel Sartakov	4–0
2021 Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series at 74 kg
Win	141–23	Jordan Burroughs	3–2	7 March 2021	Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series 2021	Rome, Italy
Win	140–23	Franklin Gómez	6–0
Win	139–23	Malik Amine	13–8
Win	138–23	Nurkozha Kaipanov	6–0
2020 Individual World Cup at 74 kg
Loss	137–23	Razambek Zhamalov	2–4	16–18 December 2020	2020 Individual World Cup	Belgrade, Serbia
Win	137–22	Azamat Nurykau	TF 10–0
Win	136–22	Hrayr Alikhanyan	8–2
Win	135–22	Fazli Eryilmaz	Fall
Win	134–22	Augusto Midana	8–0
Loss	133–22	Kyle Dake	3–4	25 July 2020	FloWrestling: Dake vs. Chamizo	Austin, Texas
2020 European Championships at 74 kg
Win	133–21	Magomedrasul Gazimagomedov	5–3	16 February 2020	2020 European Continental Championships	Rome, Italy
Win	132–21	Murad Kuramagomedov	6–0
Win	131–21	Valentin Borzin	8–0
Win	130–21	Khadzhimurad Gadzhiyev	Fall
2019 World Championships at 74 kg
Loss	129–21	Zaurbek Sidakov	2–5	21 September 2019	2019 World Championships	Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
Win	129–20	Zelimkhan Khadjiev	4–1
Win	128–20	Daniyar Kaisanov	Fall
Win	127–20	Lee Seung-chul	10–2
Win	126–20	Marc Dietsche	TF 10–0
2019 Yaşar Doğu at 74 kg
Loss		Jordan Burroughs	INJ	11–14 July 2019	2019 Yaşar Doğu Ranking Series	Istanbul, Turkey
Win	125–20	Alibek Abdikassymov	10–5
Win	124–20	Fazli Eryilmaz	10–6
2019 Matteo Pellicone Memorial at 74 kg
Win	123–20	Daniyar Kaisanov	6–4	23–25 May 2019	2019 Sassari City Matteo Pellicone Memorial	Sassari, Italy
Win	122–20	Khetag Tsabolov	5–4
Win	121–20	Andrei Karpach	8–0
Win	120–20	Isaac Collier	TF 11–0
2019 European Championships at 74 kg
Win	119–20	Zelimkhan Khadjiev	8–0	10 April 2019	2019 European Continental Championships	Bucharest, Romania
Win	118–20	Khadzhimurad Gadzhiyev	6–2
Win	117–20	Miroslav Kirov	5–0
Win	116–20	Timur Bizhoev	3–0
2019 Dan Kolov - Nikola Petrov at 74 kg
Win	115–20	Ali-Pasha Umarpashaev	TF 13–2	28 February – 3 March 2019	2019 Dan Kolov - Nikola Petrov Ranking Series	Ruse, Bulgaria
Loss	114–20	Jordan Burroughs	2–9
Win	114–19	Azamat Nurykau	TF 12–2
2018 World Championships 5th at 74 kg
Loss	113–19	Jordan Burroughs	4–4	20–21 October 2018	2018 World Championships	Budapest, Hungary
Loss	113–18	Zaurbek Sidakov	2–3
Win	113–17	Bolat Sakayev	6–1
Win	112–17	Gong Byung-min	5–1
Win	111–17	Gamid Dzhalilov	9–0
2018 Dmitry Korkin Memorial International at 74 kg
Loss	110–17	Nikita Suchkov	3–5	6–8 September 2018	2018 Dmitry Korkin Memorial International	Yakutsk, Russia
Win	110–16	Israil Kasumov	14–11
Win	109–16	Artiom Postica	TF 12–2
Win	108–16	Alisher Usmanov	6–4
2018 Yaşar Doğu at 74 kg
Win	107–16	Jordan Burroughs	10–10	27–29 July 2018	2018 Yaşar Doğu Ranking Series	Istanbul, Turkey
Win	106–16	Saeid Dadashpourkerikalaei	6–0
Win	105–16	Yakup Gör	4–0
Win	104–16	Nurlan Bekzhanov	6–0
2018 Mediterranean Games at 74 kg
Win	103–16	Samy Moustafa	PP	24–27 June 2018	2018 Mediterranean Games	Tarragone, Spain
Win	102–16	Muhammet Demir	PP
Win	101–16	David Galea	TF
Loss	100–16	Jordan Burroughs	5–8	17 May 2018	2018 Beat The Streets: Team USA vs. The World All-Stars	New York City, New York
2018 European Championships at 74 kg
Win	100–15	Achsarbek Gulajev	TF 10–0	5 May 2018	2018 European Continental Championships	Kaspiysk, Russia
Loss	99–15	Soner Demirtaş	3–4
Win	99–14	Khetag Tsabolov	Fall
Win	98–14	Avtandil Kentchadze	9–4
2018 Dan Kolov - Nikola Petrov at 74 kg
Win	97–14	Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov	10–6	22–27 March 2018	2018 Dan Kolov - Nikola Petrov Ranking Series	Sofia, Bulgaria
Win	96–14	Muhammed Akdeniz	Fall
Win	95–14	Dzhemal Ali	4–2
2018 Ukrainian Memorial at 74 kg
Win	94–14	Franklin Gómez	4–0	23–25 February 2018	XXII Outstanding Ukrainian Wrestlers and Coaches Memorial	Kyiv, Ukraine
Win	93–14	Achsarbek Gulajev	5–0
Win	92–14	Taro Umebayashi	6–1
Win	91–14	Andrius Mazeika	TF 10–0
Win	90–14	Gadzhimurad Omarov	6–4
2017 Alans International 5th at 70 kg
Loss	89–14	Zaurbek Sidakov	6–9	17–25 November 2017	2017 Alans International	Vladikavkaz, Russia
Win	89–13	Konstantin Khabalashvili	9–6
Win	88–13	Magomed Muslimov	TF 11–1
2017 World Championships at 70 kg
Win	87–13	James Green	8–0	26 August 2017	2017 World Championships	Paris, France
Win	86–13	Yakup Gor	5–2
Win	85–13	Akzhurek Tanatarov	TF 12–0
Win	84–13	Elaman Dogdurbek Uulu	TF 12–0
Win	83–13	Ikhtiyor Navruzov	9–5
2017 Ion Cornianu & Ladislau Simon at 70 kg
Win	82–13	Andriy Kviatkovskyi	3–0	22–23 July 2017	2017 Ion Cornianu & Ladislau Simon Memorial International	Bucharest, Romania
Win	81–13	Enes Uslu	Fall
Win	80–13	Andrei Zugrav	Fall
Win	79–13	Maxim Fricatel	TF 10–0
2017 Ali Aliev Memorial International at 70 kg
Win	78–13	Ganzorigiin Mandakhnaran	6–2	6–10 July 2017	2017 Ali Aliev Memorial International	Vladikavkaz, Russia
Win	77–13	Murad Kuramagomedov	12–5
Win	76–13	Alibek Akbaev	TF 11–0
Win	75–13	Jordan Oliver	7–6	17 May 2017	2017 Beat The Streets: Times Square	New York City, New York
2017 European Championships at 70 kg
Win	74–13	Magomedmurad Gadzhiev	4–3	2–7 May 2017	2017 European Continental Championships	Novi Sad, Serbia
Win	73–13	Adrian Moise	TF 10–0
Win	72–13	Mihai Sava	TF 10–0
Win	71–13	Ruslan Dibirgadzhiyev	6–0
2017 Dan Kolov - Nikola Petrov 7th at 70 kg
Loss	70–13	Magomedrasul Gazimagomedov	2–4	8–9 April 2017	2017 Dan Kolov - Nikola Petrov Ranking Series	Ruse, Bulgaria
Win	70–12	Vikas	TF 10–0
2017 Italian Nationals at 70 kg
Win	69–13	Gianluca Talamo	TF 11–1	5 March 2017	2017 Italian National Championships	Ostia, Italy
Win	68–13	Massimiliano Chiara	Fall
Win	67–13	Giovanni Rogolino	TF 13–2
Win	66–13	Davide Turco	TF 15–4
Win	65–13	Davide Giordano	TF 14–0
2017 Mälarcupen at 74 kg
Win	64–13	Khalid Kerchiev	TF 10–0	26 February 2017	2017 Mälarcupen Fristil	Västerås, Sweden
Win	63–12	Mohaydin Rahimi	Fall
Win	62–12	Asef Khierkha	Fall
2016 Summer Olympics at 65 kg
Win	61–12	Frank Molinaro	5–3	21 August 2016	2016 Summer Olympics	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Loss	60–12	Toghrul Asgarov	4–7
Win	60–11	Zurabi Iakobishvili	4–3
Win	59–11	David Safaryan	3–1
2016 European Championships at 65 kg
Win	58–11	Mustafa Kaya	8–6	8 March 2016	2016 European Continental Championships	Riga, Latvia
Win	57–11	Aghahuseyn Mustafayev	TF 11–1
Win	56–11	Semen Radulov	TF 17–4
Win	55–11	Eduards Frolos	TF 10–0
Win	54–11	Steven Graf	TF 10–0
2016 Alexander Medved Prizes at 65 kg
Loss	53–11	Soslan Ramonov	7–8	18–19 February 2016	2016 Medved Cup and Pahlavani	Minsk, Belarus
Win	53–10	Aliaksandr Kontoyeu	5–4
Win	52–10	Logan Stieber	10–8
Win	51–10	Dauren Zhumagazyev	TF 12–2
Win	50–10	Gamlet Ramonov	TF 12–2
2015 World Championships at 65 kg
Win	49–10	Ikhtiyor Navruzov	4–3	12 September 2015	2015 World Championships	Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	48–10	Ahmad Mohammadi	Fall
Win	47–10	Toghrul Asgarov	10–5
Win	46–10	Kim Ju-Song	5–2
Win	45–10	Magomedmurad Gadzhiev	4–3
2015 Poland Open at 65 kg
Win	44–10	George Bucur	3–3	24–26 July 2015	2015 Ziolkowski & Pytlasinski Memorial International	Warsaw, Poland
Win	43–10	Andrey Kviatkovski	9–4
Win	42–10	Rashid Mostoi	TF 12–2
Win	41–10	Soslan Ramonov	4–3
2015 Spain Grand Prix at 70 kg
Loss	40–10	James Green	5–5	11 July 2015	2015 Grand Prix of Spain	Madrid, Spain
Win	40–9	Cruiz Manning	6–3
Win	39–9	Airam Gonzalez	TF 10–0
2015 European Games at 65 kg
Loss	38–9	Toghrul Asgarov	Fall	17 June 2015	2015 European Games	Baku, Azerbaijan
Win	38–8	George Bucur	5–4
Win	37–8	Mustafa Kaya	10–7
Win	36–8	Avtandil Kentchadze	4–4
2015 Copa Italia II at 65 kg
Win	35–8	Gianluca Talamo	Fall	11 April 2015	2015 Segunda Fase Copa Italia	Naples, Italy
Win	34–8	Giuseppe Cristiano	TF 10–0
Win	33–8	Saverio Borsellino	Fall
2015 U23 European Championships at 65 kg
Win	32–8	Zurabi Iakobishvili	6–0	24–29 March 2015	2015 U23 European Championships	Wałbrzych, Poland
Win	31–8	Magomed Muslimov	12–11
Win	30–8	Maxim Perpelia	TF 10–0
Win	29–8	Norbert Lukacs	TF 10–0
Win	28–8	Randy Vock	TF 10–0
2015 Alexander Medved Prizes 7th at 65 kg
Loss	27–8	Ganzorigiin Mandakhnaran	3–9	5–7 March 2015	2015 Medved Cup and Pahlavani	Minsk, Belarus
Loss	27–7	Magomed Kurbanaliev	3–5
Win	27–6	Aleksander Pauliachenko	TF 13–2
Win	26–6	Malkhaz Zarkua	10–2
2014 Kunayev D.A. International at 65 kg
Loss	25–6	Ganzorigiin Mandakhnaran	2–5	26–27 July 2014	2014 Kunayev D.A. International	Taraz, Kazakhstan
Win	20–5	Malkhaz Zarkua	6–1
Win	19–5	Kanat Mussabekov	TF 12–2
2014 Spain Grand Prix at 65 kg
Win	18–5	Aaron Pico	4–2	5 July 2014	2014 Grand Prix of Spain	Madrid, Spain
Win	17–5	Istvan Nemeth	TF 10–0
Win	16–5	Gianluca Coco	TF 14–1
2014 Sassari City 8th at 65 kg
Loss	15–5	David Safaryan	6–7	31 May 2014	2014 Sassari City Tournament	Sassari, Italy
Win	15–4	Gianluca Coco	TF 12–2
2014 Ali Aliev Memorial International at 65 kg
Win	14–4	Narek Sirunyan	8–0	24–25 May 2014	2014 Ali Aliev Memorial International	Makhachkala, Russia
Loss	13–4	Tital Dshafaroyan
Win	13–3	Ikhtiyor Navruzov
Win	12–3	S. Hovsepyan	TF 12–2
2014 Yaşar Doğu at 65 kg
Win	11–3	Magomed Muslimov	8–3	15 February 2014	2014 Yaşar Doğu Ranking Series	Istanbul, Turkey
Win	10–3	Aghahuseyn Mustafayev	10–3
Win	9–3	Dovletmyrat Orazgylyjov	11–4
Win	8–3	Ganzorigiin Mandakhnaran	10–5
Win	7–3	Azat Mirakhimov	10–4
2011 World Championships 12th at 65 kg
Loss	6–3	Mihran Jaburyan	3–7, 7–0, 2–3	18 September 2011	2011 World Championships	Istanbul, Turkey
Loss	6–2	Viktor Lebedev	0–1, 1–1
Win	6–1	Sarunas Jurcys	1–1, 6–0
Win	5–1	Rahul Aware	1–2, 7–2, 4–1
2010 World Championships at 55 kg
Win	4–1	Kim Hyo-Sub	1–0, 2–3, 5–1	10 September 2010	2010 World Championships	Moscow, Russia
Loss	3–1	Viktor Lebedev	0–1, 0–1
Win	3–0	Hassan Rahimi	1–0, 2–0
Win	2–0	Serhiy Ratushniy	2–0, 2–0
Win	1–0	Krasimir Krastanov	1–1, 3–1

Awards and honors