Nino Benvenuti

Nino Benvenuti

Benvenuti in 2010
Statistics
Real name Giovanni Benvenuti
Nickname(s) Nino
Rated at Middleweight
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Nationality Italian
Born (1938-04-26) 26 April 1938
Isola d´Istria, Italy (now Izola, Slovenia)
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights 90
Wins 82
Wins by KO 35
Losses 7
Draws 1
No contests 0
Medal record
Representing  Italy
Olympics
1960 Rome -71 kg
European Amateur Championships
1957 Prague -71 kg
1959 Lucerne -71 kg

Giovanni "Nino" Benvenuti (born 26 April 1938) is a retired Italian boxer and actor. As an amateur welterweight boxer he won the Italian title in 1956–60, the European title in 1957 and 1959, and an Olympic gold medal in 1960, receiving the Val Barker trophy for boxing style. In 1961, having an amateur record of 120 wins and one loss, he turned professional and won world titles in the light-middleweight and twice in the middleweight division.[1] Near the end of his boxing career he appeared in Sundance and the Kid (1969) and then in Mark Shoots First (1975).[2]

Professional boxing career

Benvenuti talks to his father Fernando at the 1960 Olympics
Benvenuti with wife Giuliana Fonzari and two sons

On 20 January 1961, Benvenuti made his professional boxing debut, beating Ben Ali Allala by decision in six rounds. He then won 29 fights in a row before challenging for the Italian Middleweight title, on 1 March 1963, in Rome against Tommaso Truppi. His winning streak extended to 30 when he knocked out Truppi in round eleven. His winning streak reached 46 wins in a row when he met former world Junior Middleweight champion Denny Moyer on 18 September 1964, beating Moyer on points in ten rounds.

After reaching 55 wins in a row, including a five-round knockout of Truppi in a rematch, he met world Jr. Middleweight champion Sandro Mazzinghi in Milan, on 18 June 1965. This was a fight the Italian public clamored for: both men were Italian, both men claimed to be the best in their division, and they had expressed desire to fight each other. Benvenuti became the world junior middleweight champion with a sixth-round knockout win.[3] It was common, at that era, for world champions to fight for regional belts after winning the world title, so on 15 October 1965, he added the European belt at the Middleweight division, with a sixth-round knockout of Luis Folledo.

A rematch with Mazzinghi took place on 17 December 1965, and Benvenuti retained the world junior middleweight crown with a fifteen-round decision. After three non-title wins, including a twelve-round decision over Don Fullmer and a fourteen-round knockout in Germany of Jupp Elze (Benvenuti's first professional fight abroad), he travelled to South Korea, where he lost his world junior middleweight title against Ki-Soo Kim, who won by decision in fifteen rounds on 25 June 1966. Benvenuti deemed his first loss as a professional as an unjustified decision for the local boxer, and, frustrated by it, he decided to concentrate on the middleweight division instead.

On 17 April 1967, Benvenuti beat Emile Griffith by decision in fifteen rounds at New York City's Madison Square Garden, in what was the beginning of their trilogy of fights, to win the world middleweight title.[4] On a rematch at Shea Stadium on 29 September 1967, he lost by a decision in fifteen rounds.

On 4 March 1968, Benvenuti and Griffith completed their trilogy, once again at Madison Square Garden, with Benvenuti knocking Griffith down in round nine and winning a fifteen-round decision to regain the world Middleweight title. On 14 December 1968, in San Remo, he and Fullmer met once again, and Benvenuti retained the world middleweight title with a fifteen-round decision. On 26 May 1969, Benvenuti was outpointed over ten rounds by world Light Heavyweight champion Dick Tiger in an over-the-weight, non-title match.

The most curious defense of Benvenuti's active reign, took place on 4 October 1969, when he retained the world Middleweight title with a seven-round disqualification win over American Fraser Scott at the Stadio S. Paolo in Naples. From the first round, Scott was warned repeatedly, and with increasing intensity from the referee, about attempted butting. Scott, a young fighter unschooled in the European insistence on what his trainer referred to as "that...Olympic stand-up style", knowing only the battle plan he went in with and speaking no Italian, did not understand the warnings at first, then was unable to alter his approach; to the American, he was merely "ducking" Benvenuti's shots. The bout was foul-filled even without this added controversy; Scott would later accuse Benvenuti of having tried to thumb him, and during the sixth round, the fighters' legs became entangled as they wrestled, causing both to crash to the canvas. Round Seven saw the stoppage, the referee asserting "attempted butting", Fraser Scott and corner forever insisting he had "ducked".[5]

On 22 November 1969, he beat former world Welterweight champion Luis Rodriguez by knockout in 11 rounds to, once again, retain his world Middleweight title.

This marked the beginning of a downfall period for Benvenuti: In his next fight, on 13 March 1970, he was knocked out in the eighth round of a non-title fight by unknown American Tom Bethea in Australia. While this upset defeat caused Bethea to get a world title shot at Benvenuti's title and Benvenuti avenged the defeat with an eighth-round knockout of Bethea himself, Benvenuti soon lost his title for the last time, being beaten by young Carlos Monzón by knockout in round twelve in Rome on 7 November 1970.

In 1971, after losing a ten-round decision to Jose Chirino, Benvenuti got a rematch with Monzon for the world middleweight title. Benvenuti was once again beaten by Monzon, this time by knockout in round three on 8 May 1971, in Monte Carlo. He announced his retirement there, and never returned to boxing. Benvenuti had a record of 82 wins, 7 losses and 1 draw (tie) in 90 professional boxing bouts, with 35 wins by knockout. In 1992 he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.[1][6]

Retirement and personal life

In 1961 Benvenuti married Giuliana Fonzari; they had four sons (Stefano, Macri, Giuliano and Francesco) and adopted a Tunisian girl (Soraya). They later divorced, and Benvenuti married Nadia Bertorello, with whom he had one daughter (Nathalie).[7]

After retiring from boxing Benvenuti became a successful businessman, show host and city counselor in Trieste. He opened a high-class restaurant[8] and forged friendships with Monzon and Griffith. In 1980 he asked Griffith to become the godfather of one of his sons, and later helped him financially.[9] Monzon was a guest of honor at Benvenuti's television show several times, and, when he was accused of murdering his wife in 1988, Benvenuti became one of his most loyal supporters, visiting him in jail in Argentina several times, and clamoring for Monzon's freedom.

Books

Professional boxing record

82 Wins (35 knockouts), 7 Losses (3 knockouts), 1 Draw[10]
Res. Record Opponent Type Round
Time		 Date Location Notes
Loss82–7–1Argentina Carlos Monzón TKO 3 (15)
1:05		 1971–05–08 Monaco Stade Louis II, Fontvieille For WBA, WBC & Lineal Middleweight titles.
Loss82–6–1Argentina José Chirino MD 10 1971–03–17 Italy Bologna, Emilia-Romagna
Loss82–5–1Argentina Carlos Monzón TKO 12 (15)
1:57		 1970–11–07 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio		 Lost WBA, WBC & Lineal Middleweight titles.
Win82–4–1United States Doyle Baird TKO 10 (10)
2:03		 1970–09–12 Italy Stadio della Vittoria,
Bari, Apulia		 Non-title fight.
Win81–4–1United States Tom Bethea KO 8 (15)
2:43		 1970–05–23 Croatia Sports Stadium Arena,
Umag, Istria		 Retained WBA, WBC & Lineal Middleweight titles.
Loss80–4–1United States Tom Bethea TKO 8 (10) 1970–03–13 Australia Olympic Velodrome,
Melbourne, Victoria		 Non-title fight
Win80–3–1Cuba Luis Manuel Rodríguez KO 11 (15)
1:08		 1969–11–22 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio		 Retained WBA, WBC & Lineal Middleweight titles.
Win79–3–1United States Fraser Scott DQ 7 (15)
1:40		 1969–10–04 Italy Stadio San Paolo,
Naples, Campania		 Retained WBA, WBC & Lineal Middleweight titles.
Loss78–3–1Nigeria Dick Tiger UD 10 1969–05–26 United States Madison Square Garden,
New York City, New York		 Non-title fight.
Win78–2–1United States Don Fullmer UD 15 1968–12–14 Italy Teatro Ariston,
Sanremo, Liguria		 Retained WBA, WBC & Lineal Middleweight titles.
Draw77–2–1United States Doyle Baird PTS 10 1968–10–14 United States Rubber Bowl,
Akron, Ohio		 Non-title fight.
Win77–2United States Art Hernandez UD 10 1968–09–17 Canada Maple Leaf Gardens,
Toronto, Ontario		 Non-title fight.
Win76–2United States Jimmy Ramos RTD 4 (10)
0:30		 1968–07–05 Italy Turin, Piedmont Non-title fight.
Win75–2Japan Yoshiaki Akasaka KO 2 (10) 1968–06–07 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio		 Non-title fight.
Win74–2United States Virgin Islands Emile Griffith UD 15 1968–03–04 United States Madison Square Garden,
New York City, New York		 Won WBA, WBC & Lineal Middleweight titles.
Win73–2United States Charley Austin PTS 10 1968–01–19 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio
Loss72–2United States Virgin Islands Emile Griffith MD 15 1967–09–29 United States Shea Stadium,
New York City, New York		 Lost WBA, WBC & Lineal Middleweight titles.
Win72–1United States Virgin Islands Emile Griffith UD 15 1967–04–17 United States Madison Square Garden,
New York City, New York		 Won WBA, WBC & Lineal Middleweight titles.
The Ring Fight of the Year.
Win71–1Jamaica Milo Calhoun PTS 10 1967–03–03 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio
Win70–1Germany Manfred Graus KO 2 (10)
2:40		 1967–01–19 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio
Win69–1Brazil Renato Moraes KO 9 (10) 1966–12–23 Italy Rome, Lazio
Win68–1United States Ferd Hernandez PTS 10 1966–12–02 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio
Win67–1France Pascal Di Benedetto RTD 11 (15) 1966–10–21 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio		 Retained EBU Middleweight title.
Win66–1England Harry Scott PTS 10 1966–09–23 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio
Loss65–1South Korea Kim Ki-Soo SD 15 1966–06–25 South Korea Jangchung Gymnasium, Seoul Lost WBA, WBC & Lineal Light Middleweight titles.
Win65–0Germany Jupp Elze TKO 14 (15)
1:27		 1966–05–14 Germany Deutschlandhalle, Berlin Retained EBU Middleweight title.
Win64–0United States Clarence James PTS 10 1966–03–11 Italy Turin, Piedmont Non-title fight.
Win63–0United States Don Fullmer PTS 12 1966–02–04 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio		 Non-title fight.
Win62–0Italy Sandro Mazzinghi UD 15 1965–12–17 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio		 Retained WBA, WBC & Lineal Light Middleweight titles.
Win61–0United States James Shelton PTS 10 1965–11–15 Italy Bologna, Emilia-Romagna Non-title fight.
Win60–0United States Johnny Torres DQ 7 (10) 1965–11–05 Italy Turin, Piedmont Non-title fight.
Win59–0Spain Luis Folledo KO 6 (15) 1965–10–15 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio		 Won vacant EBU Middleweight title. Folledo weighed 165lbs.
Win58–0France Daniel Leullier TKO 7 (10) 1965–08–16 Italy Senigallia, Marche Non-title fight.
Win57–0Italy Sandro Mazzinghi KO 6 (15)
2:40		 1965–06–18 Italy San Siro,
Milan, Lombardy		 Won WBA, WBC & Lineal Light Middleweight titles.
Win56–0Jamaica Milo Calhoun PTS 10 1965–04–30 Italy Genoa, Liguria
Win55–0United States Rip Randall PTS 10 1965–04–02 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio
Win54–0United States Dick Knight KO 6 (10) 1965–03–19 Italy Bologna, Emilia-Romagna
Win53–0England Mick Leahy PTS 10 1965–02–27 Italy Palazzo dello Sport,
Milan, Lombardy
Win52–0Italy Tommaso Truppi RTD 5 (12) 1965–02–12 Italy Bologna, Emilia-Romagna Retained Italian Middleweight title.
Win51–0United States Art Hernandez TKO 3 (10)
2:20		 1965–01–22 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio
Win50–0Argentina Juan Carlos Durán PTS 10 1964–12–19 Italy Palazzo dello Sport,
Milan, Lombardy
Win49–0Mexico Aristeo Chavarin KO 4 (10) 1964–11–27 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio
Win48–0Brazil Abrao De Souza DQ 7 (10) 1964–10–09 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio
Win47–0United States Denny Moyer PTS 10 1964–09–18 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio
Win46–0France Fabio Bettini PTS 12 1964–07–30 Italy Sanremo, Liguria Retained Italian Middleweight title.
Win45–0United States Jimmy Beecham TKO 2 (10) 1964–05–28 Italy Bologna, Emilia-Romagna
Win44–0Aruba Sugar Boy Nando PTS 10 1964–04–10 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio
Win43–0France Michel Diouf PTS 10 1964–03–18 Italy Bologna, Emilia-Romagna
Win42–0Mexico Memo Ayon KO 5 (10)
0:28		 1964–02–28 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio
Win41–0United States Ted Wright PTS 10 1963–12–13 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio
Win40–0Nicaragua Luis Gutierrez TKO 7 (10) 1963–11–15 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio
Win39–0France Jackie Cailleau PTS 10 1963–11–07 Italy Prato, Tuscany
Win38–0Mexico Gaspar Ortega PTS 10 1963–10–18 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio
Win37–0Argentina Víctor Zalazar TKO 2 (10) 1963–09–27 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio
Win36–0Germany Wilhelm Niederau TKO 6 (10) 1963–09–16 Italy Prato, Tuscany
Win35–0Italy Francesco Fiori TKO 3 (12) 1963–08–31 Italy Priverno, Lazio Retained Italian Middleweight title.
Win34–0United States Tony Montano PTS 10 1963–06–07 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio
Win33–0United States Jimmy Beecham PTS 10 1963–05–23 Italy Stadio Flaminio,
Rome, Lazio
Win32–0France Jean Ruellet PTS 10 1963–04–24 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Alessandria, Piedmont
Win31–0France Georges Estatoff KO 6 (10)
0:33		 1963–04–05 Italy Palazzo dello Sport,
Turin, Piedmont
Win30–0Italy Tommaso Truppi KO 11 (12) 1963–03–01 Italy Rome, Lazio Won vacant Italian Middleweight title.
Win29–0Italy Giampaolo Melis KO 2 (10) 1962–12–26 Italy Bologna, Emilia-Romagna
Win28–0Cuba Isaac Logart PTS 10 1962–11–30 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio
Win27–0France Daniel Leullier PTS 10 1962–10–18 Italy Padua, Veneto
Win26–0Spain Diego Infantes PTS 8 1962–09–28 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio
Win25–0Italy Giuseppe Gentiletti KO 2 (10) 1962–08–30 Italy Senigallia, Marche
Win24–0Tunisia Mahmout le Noir PTS 8 1962–08–02 Italy Lignano, Emilia-Romagna
Win23–0Italy Gino Rossi PTS 10 1962–07–12 Italy Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Win22–0Germany Heinz Freytag PTS 8 1962–06–22 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio
Win21–0France Jean Ruellet PTS 8 1962–06–02 Italy Stadio Amsicora,
Cagliari, Sardinia
Win20–0Trinidad and Tobago Hector Constance PTS 10 1962–05–01 Italy Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Win19–0United States Jim Hegerle KO 4 (11) 1962–04–13 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio
Win18–0Italy Gianni Lommi KO 5 (10) 1962–03–17 Italy Milan, Lombardy
Win17–0Germany Manfred Haas PTS 8 1962–03–08 Italy Turin, Piedmont
Win16–0Spain José Riquelme PTS 8 1962–02–19 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Bologna, Emilia-Romagna
Win15–0England George Aldridge KO 6 (10) 1962–01–19 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio
Win14–0Italy Giuseppe Catalano PTS 8 1961–12–20 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio
Win13–0United States Jesse Jones DQ 6 (8) 1961–11–09 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio
Win12–0Italy Angelo Brisci KO 1 (8) 1961–11–01 Italy Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Win11–0France Retmia Mahrez TKO 3 (8) 1961–10–02 Italy Bologna, Emilia-Romagna
Win10–0France Marc Desforneaux PTS 6 1961–06–17 Italy Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Win9–0France Henri Cabelduc PTS 6 1961–06–07 Italy Bologna, Emilia-Romagna
Win8–0France Michel Francois KO 4 (8) 1961–05–16 Italy Turin, Piedmont
Win7–0France Daniel Brunet DQ 3 (8) 1961–05–03 Italy Naples, Campania
Win6–0France Pierre Mondino PTS 6 1961–04–21 Italy Florence, Tuscany
Win5–0Croatia Nic Maric PTS 6 1961–04–07 Italy PalaLido,
Milan, Lombardy
Win4–0 Sahib Mosri KO 3 (6) 1961–03–14 Italy Bologna, Emilia-Romagna
Win3–0Tunisia Ben Ali Allala KO 1 (6) 1961–02–27 Italy Naples, Campania
Win2–0Italy Nicola Sammartino KO 3 (6) 1961–02–10 Italy Palazzetto dello Sport,
Rome, Lazio
Win1–0Tunisia Ben Ali Allala PTS 6 1961–01–20 Italy Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Nino Benvenuti. sports-reference.com
  2. ↑ Alive or Preferably Dead. IMDb
  3. ↑ "The Lineal Junior Middleweight Champions". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
  4. ↑ "The Lineal Middleweight Champions". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
  5. ↑ Scott, Fraser (1974). Weigh-in. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company. p. 217. ISBN 0-690-00157-6.
  6. ↑ Nino Benvenuti. ibhof.com
  7. ↑ Benvenuti a questo mondo. gazzetta.it (8 September 1999)
  8. ↑ Grasso, John (2013). Historical Dictionary of Boxing. Scarecrow Press. pp. 60–. ISBN 978-0-8108-7867-9.
  9. ↑ Abramson, Mitch (24 December 2009) Daily News reunites boxing legends Nino Benvenuti and Emile Griffith one last time. nydailynews.com
  10. ↑ "Nino Benvenuti boxing record". BoxRec.com.
Achievements
Preceded by
Sandro Mazzinghi		 World Light Middleweight Champion
18 June 1965 – 25 June 1966 		Succeeded by
Ki-Soo Kim
Preceded by
Emile Griffith		 World Middleweight Champion
17 April 1967 – 29 June 1967 		Succeeded by
Emile Griffith
World Middleweight Champion
4 March 1968 – 7 November 1970 		Succeeded by
Carlos Monzón
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