Nino Benvenuti

Nino Benvenuti
Nino 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 Welterweight

Giovanni Benvenuti (born 26 April 1938), better known as Nino Benvenuti, is an Italian former boxer who is considered by many, including noted boxing writer Brian Doogan, to be the greatest boxer ever from Italy having won world titles at Light Middleweight division and twice at Middleweight.

At the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, Benvenuti earned the Welterweight division's gold medal and the Val Barker trophy as the Games' best boxer. At the end of his amateur career he had a record of 120 wins and 1 loss.

In a brief acting career, he appeared in Sundance and the Kid (1969) and Mark Shoots First (1975).

Amateur highlights

File:Nino Benvenuti 1960.jpg

Nino Benvenuti at the 1960 Olympics

• 1956 Italian Welterweight Champion
• 1957 Italian Light Middleweight Champion
• 1957 European Light Middleweight Champion
• 1958 Italian Light Middleweight Champion
• 1959 Italian Light Middleweight Champion
• 1959 European Light Middleweight Champion
• 1960 Italian Light Middleweight Champion

• Won the Welterweight Gold Medal for Italy at the 1960 Olympics in Rome, Italy. Results were:
  • Defeated Jean Josselin (France) points
  • Defeated Ki-Soo Kim (South Korea) points
  • Defeated Chichman Mitzev (Bulgaria) points
  • Defeated Jimmy Lloyd (Great Britain) points
  • Defeated Yuri Radonyak (Soviet Union) points

Professional boxing career

On 20 January 1961, he made his professional boxing debut, beating Ben Ali Allala by decision in six rounds.

He won 29 fights in a row before challenging for the Italian Middleweight title, on 1 March 1963, in Rome against Tomasso 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. 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. On a rematch at Shea Stadium on 29 September 1967, he lost by a decision in fifteen rounds, and the world middleweight title belt. In 1967, he wrote his autobiography, I, Benvenuti.

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".

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. He is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Retirement

Benvenuti became a successful businessman, show host and city counselor in Trieste. He opened a high-class restaurant and forged friendships with Monzon and Griffith, and he sent his son to take boxing classes with Griffith in New York. 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.

In 1995, Benvenuti caused sensation with the news that he was turning away from the material world and had travelled to Calcutta, India, to become a volunteer at Mother Teresa's hospice.

Professional boxing record

82 Wins (35 knockouts), 7 Losses (3 knockouts), 1 Draw
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Round Time	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	82–7–1	Carlos Monzón	TKO	3 (15) 1:05	1971–05–08	Stade Louis II, Fontvieille	For WBA and WBC Middleweight titles.
Loss	82–6–1	José Chirino	MD	10	1971–03–17	Bologna, Emilia-Romagna
Loss	82–5–1	Carlos Monzón	TKO	12 (15) 1:57	1970–11–07	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio	Lost WBA and WBC Middleweight titles.
Win	82–4–1	Doyle Baird	TKO	10 (10) 2:03	1970–09–12	Stadio della Vittoria, Bari, Apulia	Non-title fight.
Win	81–4–1	Tom Bethea	KO	8 (15) 2:43	1970–05–23	Sports Stadium Arena, Umag, Istria	Retained WBA and WBC Middleweight titles.
Loss	80–4–1	Tom Bethea	TKO	8 (10)	1970–03–13	Olympic Velodrome, Melbourne, Victoria	Non-title fight
Win	80–3–1	Luis Manuel Rodríguez	KO	11 (15) 1:08	1969–11–22	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio	Retained WBA and WBC Middleweight titles.
Win	79–3–1	Fraser Scott	DQ	7 (15) 1:40	1969–10–04	Stadio San Paolo, Naples, Campania	Retained WBA and WBC Middleweight titles.
Loss	78–3–1	Dick Tiger	UD	10	1969–05–26	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York	Non-title fight.
Win	78–2–1	Don Fullmer	UD	15	1968–12–14	Teatro Ariston, Sanremo, Liguria	Retained WBA and WBC Middleweight titles.
Draw	77–2–1	Doyle Baird	PTS	10	1968–10–14	Rubber Bowl, Akron, Ohio	Non-title fight.
Win	77–2	Art Hernandez	UD	10	1968–09–17	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario	Non-title fight.
Win	76–2	Jimmy Ramos	RTD	4 (10) 0:30	1968–07–05	Turin, Piedmont	Non-title fight.
Win	75–2	Yoshiaki Akasaka	KO	2 (10)	1968–06–07	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio	Non-title fight.
Win	74–2	Emile Griffith	UD	15	1968–03–04	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York	Won WBA and WBC Middleweight titles.
Win	73–2	Charley Austin	PTS	10	1968–01–19	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio
Loss	72–2	Emile Griffith	MD	15	1967–09–29	Shea Stadium, New York City, New York	Lost WBA and WBC Middleweight titles.
Win	72–1	Emile Griffith	UD	15	1967–04–17	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York	Won WBA and WBC Middleweight titles. The Ring Fight of the Year.
Win	71–1	Milo Calhoun	PTS	10	1967–03–03	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio
Win	70–1	Manfred Graus	KO	2 (10) 2:40	1967–01–19	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio
Win	69–1	Renato Moraes	KO	9 (10)	1966–12–23	Rome, Lazio
Win	68–1	Ferd Hernandez	PTS	10	1966–12–02	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio
Win	67–1	Pascal Di Benedetto	RTD	11 (15)	1966–10–21	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio	Retained EBU Middleweight title.
Win	66–1	Harry Scott	PTS	10	1966–09–23	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio
Loss	65–1	Kim Ki-Soo	SD	15	1966–06–25	Jangchung Gymnasium, Seoul	Lost WBA and WBC Light Middleweight titles.
Win	65–0	Jupp Elze	TKO	14 (15) 1:27	1966–05–14	Deutschlandhalle, Berlin	Retained EBU Middleweight title.
Win	64–0	Clarence James	PTS	10	1966–03–11	Turin, Piedmont	Non-title fight.
Win	63–0	Don Fullmer	PTS	12	1966–02–04	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio	Non-title fight.
Win	62–0	Sandro Mazzinghi	UD	15	1965–12–17	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio	Retained WBA and WBC Light Middleweight titles.
Win	61–0	James Shelton	PTS	10	1965–11–15	Bologna, Emilia-Romagna	Non-title fight.
Win	60–0	Johnny Torres	DQ	7 (10)	1965–11–05	Turin, Piedmont	Non-title fight.
Win	59–0	Luis Folledo	KO	6 (15)	1965–10–15	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio	Won vacant EBU Middleweight title. Folledo weighed 165lbs.
Win	58–0	Daniel Leullier	TKO	7 (10)	1965–08–16	Senigallia, Marche	Non-title fight.
Win	57–0	Sandro Mazzinghi	KO	6 (15) 2:40	1965–06–18	San Siro, Milan, Lombardy	Won WBA and WBC Light Middleweight titles.
Win	56–0	Milo Calhoun	PTS	10	1965–04–30	Genoa, Liguria
Win	55–0	Rip Randall	PTS	10	1965–04–02	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio
Win	54–0	Dick Knight	KO	6 (10)	1965–03–19	Bologna, Emilia-Romagna
Win	53–0	Mick Leahy	PTS	10	1965–02–27	Palazzo dello Sport, Milan, Lombardy
Win	52–0	Tommaso Truppi	RTD	5 (12)	1965–02–12	Bologna, Emilia-Romagna	Retained Italian Middleweight title.
Win	51–0	Art Hernandez	TKO	3 (10) 2:20	1965–01–22	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio
Win	50–0	Juan Carlos Durán	PTS	10	1964–12–19	Palazzo dello Sport, Milan, Lombardy
Win	49–0	Aristeo Chavarin	KO	4 (10)	1964–11–27	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio
Win	48–0	Abrao De Souza	DQ	7 (10)	1964–10–09	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio
Win	47–0	Denny Moyer	PTS	10	1964–09–18	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio
Win	46–0	Fabio Bettini	PTS	12	1964–07–30	Sanremo, Liguria	Retained Italian Middleweight title.
Win	45–0	Jimmy Beecham	TKO	2 (10)	1964–05–28	Bologna, Emilia-Romagna
Win	44–0	Sugar Boy Nando	PTS	10	1964–04–10	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio
Win	43–0	Michel Diouf	PTS	10	1964–03–18	Bologna, Emilia-Romagna
Win	42–0	Memo Ayon	KO	5 (10) 0:28	1964–02–28	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio
Win	41–0	Ted Wright	PTS	10	1963–12–13	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio
Win	40–0	Luis Gutierrez	TKO	7 (10)	1963–11–15	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio
Win	39–0	Jackie Cailleau	PTS	10	1963–11–07	Prato, Tuscany
Win	38–0	Gaspar Ortega	PTS	10	1963–10–18	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio
Win	37–0	Víctor Zalazar	TKO	2 (10)	1963–09–27	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio
Win	36–0	Wilhelm Niederau	TKO	6 (10)	1963–09–16	Prato, Tuscany
Win	35–0	Francesco Fiori	TKO	3 (12)	1963–08–31	Priverno, Lazio	Retained Italian Middleweight title.
Win	34–0	Tony Montano	PTS	10	1963–06–07	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio
Win	33–0	Jimmy Beecham	PTS	10	1963–05–23	Stadio Flaminio, Rome, Lazio
Win	32–0	Jean Ruellet	PTS	10	1963–04–24	Palazzetto dello Sport, Alessandria, Piedmont
Win	31–0	Georges Estatoff	KO	6 (10) 0:33	1963–04–05	Palazzo dello Sport, Turin, Piedmont
Win	30–0	Tommaso Truppi	KO	11 (12)	1963–03–01	Rome, Lazio	Won vacant Italian Middleweight title.
Win	29–0	Giampaolo Melis	KO	2 (10)	1962–12–26	Bologna, Emilia-Romagna
Win	28–0	Isaac Logart	PTS	10	1962–11–30	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio
Win	27–0	Daniel Leullier	PTS	10	1962–10–18	Padua, Veneto
Win	26–0	Diego Infantes	PTS	8	1962–09–28	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio
Win	25–0	Giuseppe Gentiletti	KO	2 (10)	1962–08–30	Senigallia, Marche
Win	24–0	Mahmout le Noir	PTS	8	1962–08–02	Lignano, Emilia-Romagna
Win	23–0	Gino Rossi	PTS	10	1962–07–12	Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Win	22–0	Heinz Freytag	PTS	8	1962–06–22	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio
Win	21–0	Jean Ruellet	PTS	8	1962–06–02	Stadio Amsicora, Cagliari, Sardinia
Win	20–0	Hector Constance	PTS	10	1962–05–01	Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Win	19–0	Jim Hegerle	KO	4 (11)	1962–04–13	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio
Win	18–0	Gianni Lommi	KO	5 (10)	1962–03–17	Milan, Lombardy
Win	17–0	Manfred Haas	PTS	8	1962–03–08	Turin, Piedmont
Win	16–0	José Riquelme	PTS	8	1962–02–19	Palazzetto dello Sport, Bologna, Emilia-Romagna
Win	15–0	George Aldridge	KO	6 (10)	1962–01–19	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio
Win	14–0	Giuseppe Catalano	PTS	8	1961–12–20	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio
Win	13–0	Jesse Jones	DQ	6 (8)	1961–11–09	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio
Win	12–0	Angelo Brisci	KO	1 (8)	1961–11–01	Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Win	11–0	Retmia Mahrez	TKO	3 (8)	1961–10–02	Bologna, Emilia-Romagna
Win	10–0	Marc Desforneaux	PTS	6	1961–06–17	Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Win	9–0	Henri Cabelduc	PTS	6	1961–06–07	Bologna, Emilia-Romagna
Win	8–0	Michel Francois	KO	4 (8)	1961–05–16	Turin, Piedmont
Win	7–0	Daniel Brunet	DQ	3 (8)	1961–05–03	Naples, Campania
Win	6–0	Pierre Mondino	PTS	6	1961–04–21	Florence, Tuscany
Win	5–0	Nic Maric	PTS	6	1961–04–07	PalaLido, Milan, Lombardy
Win	4–0	Sahib Mosri	KO	3 (6)	1961–03–14	Bologna, Emilia-Romagna
Win	3–0	Ben Ali Allala	KO	1 (6)	1961–02–27	Naples, Campania
Win	2–0	Nicola Sammartino	KO	3 (6)	1961–02–10	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio
Win	1–0	Ben Ali Allala	PTS	6	1961–01–20	Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia

See also

• List of WBA world champions
• List of WBC world champions
• List of undisputed boxing champions
• Paolo Vidoz
• Duilio Loi
• Tiberio Mitri

External links

• Professional boxing record for Nino Benvenuti from BoxRec
• (Italian) Official website

Sporting positions
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