 At international level Oliva won the 1978 European Junior Championships in Dublin, Ireland and silver medal at the 1979 European Senior Championships in Cologne, West Germany.Oliva was beaten by Russian boxer Serik Konakbayev in the final of the Cologne championship and stated that his fight against Konakbaev was the hardest of his career.The following year he represented his country and boxed at the Olympic Games for Italy and would again face Konakbaev.