Nino Benvenuti

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 120-0, he turned professional and won world titles in the light-middleweight division 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]

Nino Benvenuti
Benvenuti in 2010
Statistics
Real nameGiovanni Benvenuti
Nickname(s)Nino
Weight(s)
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
NationalityItalian
Born (1938-04-26) 26 April 1938
Isola d´Istria, Italy
(now Izola, Slovenia)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights90
Wins82
Wins by KO35
Losses7
Draws1
No contests0
Medal record
Men's amateur boxing
Representing  Italy
Olympics
1960 Rome Welterweight
European Championships
1957 Prague Light middleweight
1959 Lucerne Light middleweight

Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992. In 1968, Benvenuti was voted Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine. In 2011, The Ring magazine ranked him as seventh on their list of the "10 best middleweight title holders of the last 50 years."[3]

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.[4]

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.[5] 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.[6]

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.[4]

Benvenuti beat Emile Griffith by decision in fifteen rounds at New York City's Madison Square Garden on 17 April 1967, in what was the beginning of their trilogy of fights, to win the world middleweight title.[7] On a rematch at Shea Stadium on 29 September 1967, he lost by a decision in fifteen rounds.[6]

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.[6] 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 lost a ten round decision to former world light heavyweight champion Dick Tiger in a light heavyweight, non-title match. Benvenuti broke his right hand while landing a head punch in the first round,[8] but chose to continue fighting "like a cripple" rather than quit.[9]

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".[10]

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.[11]

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.[12]

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][13]

Retirement and personal life

Nino Benvenuti was born in the town on Isola d'Istria (once Italian, now Slovenia). After the war his family fled to Italy due to the consequences of the war treaty and the hostilities created by the Yugoslav government.[14]

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).[15]

After retiring from boxing Benvenuti became a successful businessman, show host and city counselor in Trieste. He opened a high-class restaurant[16] 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.[17] 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, as well as being a pallbearer at Monzon’s funeral.[4]

Professional boxing record
Professional record summary
90 fights 82 wins 7 losses
By knockout 35 3
By decision 42 4
By disqualification 5 0
Draws 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
90 Loss 82–7–1 Carlos Monzón TKO 3 (15), 1:05 8 May 1971 Stade Louis II, Fontvieille, Monte Carlo, Monaco For WBA, WBC, The Ring, and lineal middleweight titles
89 Loss 82–6–1 José Chirino MD 10 17 Mar 1971 Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
88 Loss 82–5–1 Carlos Monzón TKO 12 (15), 1:57 7 Nov 1970 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy Lost WBA, WBC, The Ring, and lineal middleweight titles
87 Win 82–4–1 Doyle Baird TKO 10 (10), 2:03 12 Sep 1970 Stadio della Vittoria, Bari, Apulia, Italy Non-title bout
86 Win 81–4–1 Tom Bethea KO 8 (15), 2:43 23 May 1970 Sports Stadium Arena, Umag, Yugoslavia Retained WBA, WBC, The Ring, and lineal middleweight titles
85 Loss 80–4–1 Tom Bethea TKO 8 (10) 13 Mar 1970 Olympic Velodrome, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Light heavyweight bout
84 Win 80–3–1 Luis Manuel Rodríguez KO 11 (15), 1:08 22 Nov 1969 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy Retained WBA, WBC, The Ring, and lineal middleweight titles
83 Win 79–3–1 Fraser Scott DQ 7 (15), 1:40 4 Oct 1969 Stadio San Paolo, Naples, Campania, Italy Retained WBA, WBC, The Ring, and lineal middleweight titles
82 Loss 78–3–1 Dick Tiger UD 10 26 May 1969 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. Light heavyweight bout
81 Win 78–2–1 Don Fullmer UD 15 14 Dec 1968 Teatro Ariston, Sanremo, Liguria, Italy Retained WBA, WBC, The Ring, and lineal middleweight titles
80 Draw 77–2–1 Doyle Baird PTS 10 14 Oct 1968 Rubber Bowl, Akron, Ohio, U.S. Light heavyweight bout
79 Win 77–2 Art Hernandez UD 10 17 Sep 1968 Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Light heavyweight bout
78 Win 76–2 Jimmy Ramos RTD 4 (10), 0:30 5 Jul 1968 Turin, Piedmont, Italy Light heavyweight bout
77 Win 75–2 Yoshiaki Akasaka KO 2 (10) 7 Jun 1968 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy Non-title bout
76 Win 74–2 Emile Griffith UD 15 4 Mar 1968 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. Won WBA, WBC, The Ring, and lineal middleweight titles
75 Win 73–2 Charley Austin PTS 10 19 Jan 1968 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy
74 Loss 72–2 Emile Griffith MD 15 29 Sep 1967 Shea Stadium, New York City, New York, U.S. Lost WBA, WBC, The Ring, and lineal middleweight titles
73 Win 72–1 Emile Griffith UD 15 17 Apr 1967 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. Won WBA, WBC, The Ring, and lineal middleweight titles;
The Ring Fight of the Year
72 Win 71–1 Milo Calhoun PTS 10 3 Mar 1967 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy
71 Win 70–1 Manfred Graus KO 2 (10), 2:40 19 Jan 1967 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy
70 Win 69–1 Renato Moraes KO 9 (10) 23 Dec 1966 Rome, Lazio, Italy
69 Win 68–1 Ferd Hernandez PTS 10 2 Dec 1966 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy
68 Win 67–1 Pascal Di Benedetto RTD 11 (15) 21 Oct 1966 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy Retained EBU middleweight title
67 Win 66–1 Harry Scott PTS 10 23 Sep 1966 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy
66 Loss 65–1 Kim Ki-Soo SD 15 25 Jun 1966 Jangchung Gymnasium, Seoul, South Korea Lost WBA, WBC, and lineal light middleweight titles
65 Win 65–0 Jupp Elze TKO 14 (15), 1:27 14 May 1966 Deutschlandhalle, Berlin, Germany Retained EBU middleweight title
64 Win 64–0 Clarence James PTS 10 11 Mar 1966 Turin, Piedmont, Italy Middleweight bout
63 Win 63–0 Don Fullmer PTS 12 4 Feb 1966 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy Middleweight bout
62 Win 62–0 Sandro Mazzinghi UD 15 17 Dec 1965 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy Retained WBA, WBC, and lineal light middleweight titles
61 Win 61–0 James Shelton PTS 10 15 Nov 1965 Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy Middleweight bout
60 Win 60–0 Johnny Torres DQ 7 (10) 5 Nov 1965 Turin, Piedmont, Italy Middleweight bout
59 Win 59–0 Luis Folledo KO 6 (15) 15 Oct 1965 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy Won vacant EBU middleweight title;
Folledo weighed 165lbs.
58 Win 58–0 Daniel Leullier TKO 7 (10) 16 Aug 1965 Senigallia, Marche, Italy Middleweight bout
57 Win 57–0 Sandro Mazzinghi KO 6 (15), 2:40 18 Jun 1965 San Siro, Milan, Lombardy, Italy Won WBA, WBC, and lineal light middleweight titles
56 Win 56–0 Milo Calhoun PTS 10 30 Apr 1965 Genoa, Liguria, Italy
55 Win 55–0 Rip Randall PTS 10 2 Apr 1965 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy
54 Win 54–0 Dick Knight KO 6 (10) 19 Mar 1965 Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
53 Win 53–0 Mick Leahy PTS 10 27 Feb 1965 Palazzo dello Sport, Milan, Lombardy, Italy
52 Win 52–0 Tommaso Truppi RTD 5 (12) 12 Feb 1965 Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy Retained Italian middleweight title
51 Win 51–0 Art Hernandez TKO 3 (10), 2:20 22 Jan 1965 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy
50 Win 50–0 Juan Carlos Durán PTS 10 19 Dec 1964 Palazzo dello Sport, Milan, Lombardy, Italy
49 Win 49–0 Aristeo Chavarin KO 4 (10) 27 Nov 1964 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy
48 Win 48–0 Abrao De Souza DQ 7 (10) 9 Oct 1964 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy
47 Win 47–0 Denny Moyer PTS 10 18 Sep 1964 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy
46 Win 46–0 Fabio Bettini PTS 12 30 Jul 1964 Sanremo, Liguria, Italy Retained Italian middleweight title
45 Win 45–0 Jimmy Beecham TKO 2 (10) 28 May 1964 Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
44 Win 44–0 Sugar Boy Nando PTS 10 10 Apr 1964 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy
43 Win 43–0 Michel Diouf PTS 10 18 Mar 1964 Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
42 Win 42–0 Memo Ayon KO 5 (10), 0:28 28 Feb 1964 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy
41 Win 41–0 Ted Wright PTS 10 13 Dec 1963 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy
40 Win 40–0 Luis Gutierrez TKO 7 (10) 15 Nov 1963 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy
39 Win 39–0 Jackie Cailleau PTS 10 7 Nov 1963 Prato, Tuscany, Italy
38 Win 38–0 Gaspar Ortega PTS 10 18 Oct 1963 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy
37 Win 37–0 Víctor Zalazar TKO 2 (10) 27 Sep 1963 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy
36 Win 36–0 Wilhelm Niederau TKO 6 (10) 16 Sep 1963 Prato, Tuscany, Italy
35 Win 35–0 Francesco Fiori TKO 3 (12) 31 Aug 1963 Priverno, Lazio, Italy Retained Italian middleweight title
34 Win 34–0 Tony Montano PTS 10 7 Jun 1963 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy
33 Win 33–0 Jimmy Beecham PTS 10 23 May 1963 Stadio Flaminio, Rome, Lazio, Italy
32 Win 32–0 Jean Ruellet PTS 10 24 Apr 1963 Palazzetto dello Sport, Alessandria, Piedmont, Italy
31 Win 31–0 Georges Estatoff KO 6 (10), 0:33 5 Apr 1963 Palazzo dello Sport, Turin, Piedmont, Italy
30 Win 30–0 Tommaso Truppi KO 11 (12) 1 Mar 1963 Rome, Lazio, Italy Won vacant Italian middleweight title
29 Win 29–0 Giampaolo Melis KO 2 (10) 26 Dec 1962 Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
28 Win 28–0 Isaac Logart PTS 10 30 Nov 1962 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy
27 Win 27–0 Daniel Leullier PTS 10 18 Oct 1962 Padua, Veneto, Italy
26 Win 26–0 Diego Infantes PTS 8 28 Sep 1962 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy
25 Win 25–0 Giuseppe Gentiletti KO 2 (10) 30 Aug 1962 Senigallia, Marche, Italy
24 Win 24–0 Mahmout le Noir PTS 8 2 Aug 1962 Lignano, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
23 Win 23–0 Gino Rossi PTS 10 12 Jul 1962 Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
22 Win 22–0 Heinz Freytag PTS 8 22 Jun 1962 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy
21 Win 21–0 Jean Ruellet PTS 8 2 Jun 1962 Stadio Amsicora, Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy
20 Win 20–0 Hector Constance PTS 10 1 May 1962 Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
19 Win 19–0 Jim Hegerle KO 4 (11) 13 Apr 1962 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy
18 Win 18–0 Gianni Lommi KO 5 (10) 17 Mar 1962 Milan, Lombardy, Italy
17 Win 17–0 Manfred Haas PTS 8 8 Mar 1962 Turin, Piedmont, Italy
16 Win 16–0 José Riquelme PTS 8 19 Feb 1962 Palazzetto dello Sport, Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
15 Win 15–0 George Aldridge KO 6 (10) 19 Jan 1962 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy
14 Win 14–0 Giuseppe Catalano PTS 8 20 Dec 1961 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy
13 Win 13–0 Jesse Jones DQ 6 (8) 9 Nov 1961 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy
12 Win 12–0 Angelo Brisci KO 1 (8) 1 Nov 1961 Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
11 Win 11–0 Retmia Mahrez TKO 3 (8) 2 Oct 1961 Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
10 Win 10–0 Marc Desforneaux PTS 6 17 Jun 1961 Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
9 Win 9–0 Henri Cabelduc PTS 6 7 Jun 1961 Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
8 Win 8–0 Michel Francois KO 4 (8) 16 May 1961 Turin, Piedmont, Italy
7 Win 7–0 Daniel Brunet DQ 3 (8) 3 May 1961 Naples, Campania, Italy
6 Win 6–0 Pierre Mondino PTS 6 21 Apr 1961 Florence, Tuscany, Italy
5 Win 5–0 Nic Maric PTS 6 7 Apr 1961 PalaLido, Milan, Lombardy, Italy
4 Win 4–0 Sahib Mosri KO 3 (6) 14 Mar 1961 Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
3 Win 3–0 Ben Ali Allala KO 1 (6) 27 Feb 1961 Naples, Campania, Italy
2 Win 2–0 Nicola Sammartino KO 3 (6) 10 Feb 1961 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy
1 Win 1–0 Ben Ali Allala PTS 6 20 Jan 1961 Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy

Awards

On 7 May 2015, in the presence of the President of Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), Giovanni Malagò, was inaugurated in the Olympic Park of the Foro Italico in Rome, along Viale delle Olimpiadi, the Walk of Fame of Italian sport, consisting of 100 tiles that chronologically report names of the most representative athletes in the history of Italian sport. On each tile are the name of the sportsman, the sport in which he distinguished himself and the symbol of CONI. One of the tiles is dedicated to Nino Benvenuti.[18]

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See also

References
  1. Nino Benvenuti. sports-reference.com
  2. Alive or Preferably Dead. IMDb
  3. "10: Best middleweight titleholders of the last 50 years". RingTV. Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  4. De Franco, Luca (16 November 2005). "A Conversation with Nino Benvenuti". The Sweet Science. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  5. "Nino Benvenuti - Lineal Junior Middleweight Champion". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
  6. Wheeler, Paul (26 April 2018). "On This Day: Italian great Nino Benvenuti was born". Boxing News. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  7. "Nino Benvenuti - Lineal Middleweight Champion". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
  8. "Benvenuti Breaks Hand, Loses Decision to Tiger". The Desert Sun. 27 May 1969. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  9. "Benvenuti Settles for Immortality". The New York Times. 15 February 1970. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  10. Scott, Fraser (1974). Weigh-in. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company. p. 217. ISBN 0-690-00157-6.
  11. Kram, Mark (1 December 1969). "NINO'S HOOK STOPPED A ROMAN RIOT". Vault - Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  12. Casey, Mike (28 July 2006). "Fall Of The Emperor: Monzon Dethroned Nino". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  13. Nino Benvenuti. ibhof.com
  14. Kane, Martin (14 February 1966). "A JAB FROM THE INTELLECTUAL". Vault - Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  15. Benvenuti a questo mondo. gazzetta.it (8 September 1999)
  16. Grasso, John (2013). Historical Dictionary of Boxing. Scarecrow Press. pp. 60–. ISBN 978-0-8108-7867-9.
  17. Abramson, Mitch (24 December 2009) Daily News reunites boxing legends Nino Benvenuti and Emile Griffith one last time. nydailynews.com
  18. "Inaugurata la Walk of Fame: 100 targhe per celebrare le leggende dello sport italiano" (in Italian). coni.it. Retrieved 11 October 2018.

Bibliography
Achievements
Vacant
Title last held by
Laszlo Papp		 European Middleweight Champion
15 October 1965 – 17 April 1967
won world title 		Vacant
Title next held by
Carlo Duran
Preceded by
Alessandro 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
Sporting positions
Previous:
Terry Downes		 Oldest living middleweight champion
October 6, 2017 – present 		Incumbent
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