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The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia -- Lineal Champion
Giovanni "Nino" Benvenuti
BORN April 26 1938; Isola dŽIstria, Slovenia (Some sources report Trieste, Italy) HEIGHT 5-11 WEIGHT 152 1/2 - 164 lbs MANAGER Bruno Amaduzzi TRAINER Libero Golinelli Benvenuti was a handsome, all-around athlete who excelled at boxing - a talented fighter who could box or punch; With his fast hands and being difficult to hit with a solid punch, he dominated Italy, Europe and the World while he was fighting; During his career, he won the Middleweight Championship of the World, the Light Middleweight Championship of the World, the Middleweight Championship of Europe and the Middleweight Championship of Italy
According to Nino, "It's better to win when there is a lot of competition than when there isn't any" (I Benvenuti, 1967)
He defeated such men as Emile Griffith, Luis Rodriguez, Don Fullmer, Denny Moyer, Sandro Mazzinghi, Isaac Logart, Gaspar Ortega, Ki-Soo Kim, Doyle Baird, Fraser Scott, Lius Folledo, Tom Bethea, Pascal Di Benedetto, Art Hernandez, Manfred Haas, Tomasso Truppi, Francesco Fiori, Victor Zalazar, Luis Gutierrez, Jupp Elze, Jimmy Beecham, Tony Montano, Charley Austin and Mick Leahy
Benvenuti was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992 and the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1993
*** AMATEUR BOUTS (120-0 or 119-1) *** 1956 -Benvenuti won the Welterweight Championship of Italy 1957 -Benvenuti won the Light Middleweight Championship of Italy 1958 -Benvenuti won the Light Middleweight Championship of Italy 1959 -Benvenuti won the Light Middleweight Championship of Italy -Benvenuti won the Light Middleweight Championship of Europe 1960 -Benvenuti won the Light Middleweight Championship of Italy Jean Josselin Rome, Italy W 3 Ki-Soo Kim Rome, Italy W 3 Chichman Mitzev Rome, Italy W 3 Jimmy Lloyd Rome, Italy W 3 Yuri Radonyak Rome, Italy W 3 -The previous 5 bouts were part of the Olympic Games Welterweight (147-lb) Boxing Competition; Nino won the Gold Medal*** PROFESSIONAL BOUTS *** 1961 Jan 20 Ben Ali Allala Trieste, Italy W 6 Feb 10 Nicola Sammartino Rome, Italy KO 3 Feb 27 Ben Ali Allala Naples, Italy KO 1 Mar 14 Sahib Mosri Bologna, Italy KO 3 Apr 7 Nick Maric Milan, Italy W 6 Apr 21 Pierre Mondino Florence, Italy W 6 May 3 Daniel Brunet Naples, Italy WF 3 May 16 Michel Francois Turin, Italy KO 4 Jun 7 Henri Cabelduc Bologna, Italy W 6 Jun 17 Marc Desforneaux Trieste, Italy W 6 Oct 2 Retmia Mahrez Bologna, Italy KO 3 Nov 1 Angelo Brisci Trieste, Italy KO 1 Nov 9 Jesse Jones Rome, Italy WF 6 Dec 20 Giuseppe Catalano Rome, Italy W 8 1962 Jan 19 George Aldridge Rome, Italy KO 6 Feb 19 Jose Riquelme Bologna, Italy W 8 Mar 8 Manfred Haas Turin, Italy W 8 Mar 17 Gianni Lommi Milan, Italy KO 5 Apr 13 Jim Hegerle Rome, Italy KO 4 May 1 Hector Costance Trieste, Italy W 10 Jun 2 Jean Ruellet Cagliari, Italy W 8 Jun 22 Heini Freytag Rome, Italy W 8 Jul 12 Gino Rossi Trieste, Italy W 10 Aug 2 Mahmout Le Noir Priverno, Italy W 8 -Some soruces report "Lignano, Italy" Aug 30 Giuseppe Gentiletti Senigallia, Italy KO 2 Sep 28 Diego Infantes Rome, Italy W 8 Oct 18 Daniel Leullier Padua, Italy W 10 Nov 30 Isaac Logart Rome, Italy W 10 Dec 26 Giampaolo Melis Bologna, Italy KO 2 1963 Mar 1 Tomasso Truppi Rome, Italy KO 11 -Middleweight Championship of Italy Apr 5 Georges Estatoff Turin, Italy KO 6 Apr 24 Jean Ruellet Alessandria, Italy W 10 May 23 Jimmy Beecham Rome, Italy W 10 Jun 7 Tony Montano Rome, Italy W 10 Aug 31 Francesco Fiori Priverno, Italy TK 3 -Middleweight Championship of Italy Sep 16 Willy Niederau Prato, Italy KO 6 Sep 27 Victor Zalazar Rome, Italy TK 2 Oct 18 Gaspar Ortega Rome, Italy W 10 Nov 7 Jackie Cailleau Prato, Italy W 10 Nov 15 Lou Gutierrez Rome, Italy TK 7 Dec 13 Teddy Wright Rome, Italy W 10 1964 Feb 28 Memo Ayon Rome, Italy KO 5 Mar 18 Michel Diouf Bologna, Italy W 10 Apr 10 Sugar Boy Nando Rome, Italy W 10 -Some sources report "Balogna, Italy" May 28 Jimmy Beecham Bologna, Italy TK 2 Jul 30 Fabio Bettini San Remo, Italy W 12 -Middleweight Championship of Italy Sep 18 Denny Moyer Rome, Italy W 10 Oct 9 Abrao De Souza Rome, Italy WF 7 Nov 27 Aristeo Chavarin Rome, Italy KO 4 Dec 19 Juan Carlos Duran Milan, Italy W 10 1965 Jan 22 Art Hernandez Rome, Italy TK 3 Feb 12 Tommaso Truppi Bologna, Italy TK 5 -Middleweight Championship of Italy Feb 26 Mick Lehaly Milan, Italy W 10 Mar 18 Dick Knight Bologna, Italy KO 6 Apr 2 Garland "Rip" Randall Rome, Italy W 10 Apr 30 Milo Calhoun Genoa, Italy W 10 Jun 18 Sandro Mazzinghi Milan, Italy KO 6 -WBC Light Middleweight Championship of the World; WBA Light Middleweight Championship of the World Aug 15 Daniel Leullier Senigallia, Italy TK 7 Oct 15 Luis Folledo Rome, Italy KO 6 -EBU Middleweight Championship of Europe Nov 5 Johnny Torres Turin, Italy WF 7 Nov 15 James Shelton Bologna, Italy W 10 Dec 17 Sandro Mazzinghi Rome, Italy W 15 -WBC Light Middleweight Championship of the World; WBA Light Middleweight Championship of the World 1966 Feb 4 Don Fullmer Rome, Italy W 12 Mar 11 Clarence James Turin, Italy W 10 May 14 Jupp Elze Berlin, Germany TK 14 -EBU Middleweight Championship of Europe Jun 25 Ki-Soo Kim Seoul, Korea L 15 -WBC Light Middleweight Championship of the World; WBA Light Middleweight Championship of the World Sep 23 Harry Scott Rome, Italy W 10 Nov 21 Pascal Di Benedetto Rome, Italy KO 11 -EBU Middleweight Championship of Europe Dec 2 Ferd Hernandez Rome, Italy W 10 Dec 23 Renato Moraes Rome, Italy KO 9 1967 Jan 19 Manfred Graus Bologna, Italy KO 2 Mar 3 Milo Calhoun Rome, Italy W 10 Apr 17 Emile Griffith New York, NY W 15 -WBC Middleweight Championship of the World; WBA Middleweight Championship of the World Sep 29 Emile Griffith Flushing, NY L 15 -WBC Middleweight Championship of the World; WBA Middleweight Championship of the World 1968 Jan 19 Charley Austin Rome, Italy W 10 Mar 4 Emile Griffith New York, NY W 15 -WBC Middleweight Championship of the World; WBA Middleweight Championship of the World Jun 7 Yoshiaki Akasaka Rome, Italy KO 2 Jul 5 Jimmy Ramos Turin, Italy TK 4 Sep 17 Art Hernandez Toronto, Ont, Canada W 10 Oct 14 Doyle Baird Akron, Oh D 10 Dec 14 Don Fullmer San Remo, Italy W 15 -WBC Middleweight Championship of the World; WBA Middleweight Championship of the World 1969 May 26 Dick Tiger New York, NY L 10 Oct 4 Fraser Scott Naples, Italy WF 7 -WBC Middleweight Championship of the World; WBA Middleweight Championship of the World Nov 22 Luis Rodriguez Rome, Italy KO 11 -WBC Middleweight Championship of the World; WBA Middleweight Championship of the World 1970 Mar 13 Tom Bethea Melbourne, Vic, Australia LT 8 May 23 Tom Bethea Umag, Croatia KO 8 -WBC Middleweight Championship of the World; WBA Middleweight Championship of the World Sep 12 Doyle Baird Bari, Italy TK 10 -Some sources report "Rome, Italy" Nov 7 Carlos Monzon Rome, Italy LT 12 -WBC Middleweight Championship of the World; WBA Middleweight Championship of the World 1971 Mar 17 Jose Chirino Bologna, Italy L 10 May 8 Carlos Monzon Monte Carlo, Monaco LT 3 -WBC Middleweight Championship of the World; WBA Middleweight Championship of the World *** Assistance Provided By Seth Callis ***
Record courtesy of Tracy Callis, Historian, International Boxing Research Organization