Nino Benvenuti
Nino Benvenuti, 2010
Nino Benvenuti ( born April 26, 1938 in Izola; actually Giovanni Benvenuti ) is a former Italian boxer.
Amateur career
As an amateur Benvenuti was from 1956 to 1960 four times in a row Italian master. In 1957, he won the European Championship discharged in Prague, where he among other things, Rolf Caroli, DDR, and Tadeusz Walasek, Poland, suggested, as well as the European Championship 1959 in Lucerne, in the light middleweight ( -71 kg ), with victories among others Henryk Dampc, Poland. In 1960, he took for Italy at the Olympic Games in Rome and won after beating Jean Josselin, France (5-0 ), Kim Ki -Soo, South Korea (5-0 ), Schischman Mizew, Bulgaria (5-0 ), James Lloyd, United Kingdom ( 5:0 ), and Yuri Radonjak, Soviet Union ( 4-1 ), the gold medal in the welterweight ( -67 kg ). In addition, he was honored for his outstanding achievements with the Val Barker Cup.
Professional career
In 1961 he turned pro and won his first 65 fights. Against the Nicaraguan Luis Gutierrez, he had the first time in his career to the ground, but still won by technical knockout in the seventh round.
He struggled during his professional career mainly in the middleweight division, but won both WBC and WBA light middleweight world title of his compatriot Sandro Mazzinghi on 18 June 1965 by knockout in the sixth round. In October of that year he was European champion at middleweight. Only two months later, he defended the light middleweight title in a rematch against Mazzinghi by a points victory.
In 1966, he lost in the first defeat of his career, the light middleweight title on points to the controversial Korean Ki -Soo Kim and then completely focused on the middleweight division. On April 17, 1967, he met the WBA and WBC middleweight world champion Emile Griffith and won the title by one point victory. Both Benvenuti and Griffith had in the course of combat on the ground. In a direct rematch five months he lost to Griffith, but was the third meeting in March 1968 prevailed once more.
He then successfully defended the title four times, but lost in that period also two fights in the light heavyweight division against former world champion Dick Tiger ( nP ) and Tom Bethea ( TKO 8 ).
In his fifth defense of the title he lost to Carlos Monzón in November 1970 by technical knockout in the twelfth round. Even the rematch in May 1971 Benvenuti lost prematurely. After this defeat, he finished his career.
The Ring Magazine evaluated him as best Italian boxer of all time. 1996 was Benvenuti induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Outside the ring
Benvenuti tried in 1969 as an actor; so he played in the Italo -Western- comedy Gobble it or leave the main role alongside Giuliano Gemma. In 1995, he went on for some time to India to work in Mother Teresa's project.