Italy's veteran warhorse Paolo Vidoz may be on his final roll of the dice tonight when he takes on rising prospect Matteo Modugno for the Italian heavyweight title at the Palazzetto dello Sport in Lombardia. Former Olympic bronze medalist and European heavyweight champion Vidoz will be looking to upset the undefeated Modugno and gatecrash the European top 10 yet again.

41-year-old Vidoz (28-10, 15 KOs) was one of Italy's best ever amateur heavyweights, winning a silver medal at the European Championships, two World Amateur Boxing Championship bronze medals and a bronze at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, losing to eventual gold medalist Audley Harrison. During his amateur career, Vidoz scored wins over the likes of Calvin Brock and future WBC heavyweight champion Samuel Peter, and also twice defeated the great Cuban Alexis Rubalcaba.

Following his stellar amateur career, Vidoz turned professional in January 2001 amidst considerable fanfare, scoring a first round knockout over Chris Morris in New York's Madison Square Garden. A burly 240 lb and with a fighting style similar to Polish contender Andrew Golota, the 6'3" Vidoz was rated as a genuine world heavyweight title prospect by no lesser authority than esteemed German coach Ulli Wegner, who believed Vidoz could become the first Italian to win the world heavyweight title since Primo Carnera's dubious reign in the 1930s. (Francesco Damiani held the WBO title from 1989 to 1991.) 

Ten of Vidoz's first twelve pro bouts were staged in the US, but when he dropped a decision to the tricky Zuri Lawrence in August 2002, he decided to relocate back to Italy. In August 2004, Vidoz was matched with future WBA world heavyweight champion Nikolay Valuev of Russia, and put up a decent fight against the 7'2'', 325 lb behemoth before being TKO'd in the ninth round.

In June 2005, Vidoz scored a split decision over German giant Timo Hofmann in Bayern to lift the European heavyweight title, and successfully defended it against Britain's Michael Sprott and Germany's Cengiz Koc. Vidoz lost his title against big punching Volodymyr Vyrchys in July 2006 on a sixth round knockout and was beaten on points by the Ukrainian in a rematch a year later.

Although Vidoz was to attempt to regain the European heavyweight title on four occasions, he would come up short each time, including coming heartbreakingly close against Turkey's hulking Sinan Samil Sam in 2008, being TKO'd in nine rounds by Britain's Matt Skelton later that year, and losing on points to Essex-based Pole Albert Sosnowski in December 2009. 

Vidoz is now on the verge of becoming little more than a top quality European journeyman and last year dropped decisions to prospects Alexander Ustinov and Kubrat Pulev. He is 2-0 in 2011, although the opposition has been mediocre to say the most. Now Vidoz faces the possibility of losing to a fellow countryman for the first time in his career. 

24 year old Matteo Modugno (9-0, four KOs) is built along the lines of Britain's top heavyweight prospect Tyson Fury. Modugno stands a shade under 6'7" and while his physique is massive and powerful, it is somewhat soft round the edges and not quite yet of the Klitschko mold. 

An outstanding amateur, it was hoped that Modugno would box in the 2012 Olympics in London, but when it became clear that Beijing super-heavyweight gold medalist Roberto Cammarelle wished to defend his crown, Modugno chose to turn professional.

Modugno joined the punch for pay ranks in May 2005 with a first round knockout over Alex Szekely, and has been fed a steady diet of journeyman since. He has already fought five times this year, most recently knocking out Hungarian Laszlo Toth in three rounds last month. Modugno is an aggressive boxer who loves to load up on his shots, both to the head and body, and go for the knockout.

Despite the huge gulf in experience between Vidoz and Modugno, both men are going in opposite directions career wise, and the younger fighter should have way too much ambition and energy, not to mention size and power for a European veteran now in his fifth decade. Vidoz is as tough as they come, extremely cagey, and uses his great bulk to his advantage. He is a past master at lasting the distance, and Modugno would do well to become the fourth man to stop Vidoz.

The current Golden boy of Italian boxing is 27-year-old, 6'5" Francesco Pianeta, undefeated in 24 fights (14 KOs) and on the verge of a world ranking. Matteo Modugno looks more than capable of joining Pianeta as one of the best European heavyweight prospects, and should take a step in that direction with a hard-fought points win over Paolo Vidoz in Italy tonight.

Modugno on points. 

Fight Odds: Paolo Vidoz 2/9, Matteo Modugno 3/1 bet365