It is no small thing to become a world boxing champion. Vincenzo Pazienza, an American of Italian descent from Cranston, Rhode Island, was truly proud of his sporting achievements. In the first eight years of his professional career, despite four defeats, Pazienza boxed for the world title six times and won it twice.

Already in 1987, he became the world champion in the lightweight category according to the IBF version, and four years later he grabbed the WBA welterweight title. But none of that would have set him apart from the hundreds of boxing professionals who have won world titles since various boxing organizations emerged in the early 1960s. Vinny Paz, as he has been called since 2001, was seriously injured in a car accident on November 12, 1991, in Warwick, not far from his native Cranston. He barely survived. The first doctor's prognosis was that with a little luck and a lot of disability, he would be able to walk.

But the doctors did not know Paz and were not aware of the kind of man he was. At that moment, the American boxer was wearing an ugly metal frame on his upper body, which was attached to his skull with screws. The metal frame prevented any movement of his neck. In the accident, namely, three of his neck vertebrae cracked and moved out of their natural position. Not only that 29-year-old Paz walk normally very quickly and start training, but he returns to the ring 13 months after the accident and against all medical forecasts. Again, he boxed for the world title, and by he ended his career in 2004 he manages to fight in 24 more matches.