BOXING LEGEND NINO BENVENUTI PASSES AWAY AT 87

ROME, ITALY • Nino Benvenuti, an iconic figure in Italian sports and a celebrated world middleweight boxing champion, as well as a Rome 1960 Olympic gold medalist, has died at the age of 87. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hailed him as "a symbol of a proud Italy."

Rome, May 20, 2025 – 5:26 PM – Nino Benvenuti, a true legend of Italian sport, former world middleweight boxing champion, and Olympic gold medalist at the 1960 Rome Games, has passed away at 87 years old. Born in Isola d'Istria on April 26, 1938, Benvenuti's illustrious career saw him clinch numerous titles: he was an Olympic welterweight champion at the Rome 1960 Olympic Games, WBA and WBC super welterweight world champion (1965-1966), European middleweight champion (1965-1967), and WBA and WBC middleweight world champion (1967-1970). In 1968, he won the prestigious Fighter of the Year award, and in 1992, he became the first Italian to be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, achieving both distinctions.

Life and Career Highlights

Throughout his career, Benvenuti competed in 90 professional bouts, winning 82 (35 by knockout), losing seven (2 by knockout), and drawing one. In 1967, his first match in the legendary trilogy against Emile Griffith was named "Fight of the Year." Nino Benvenuti remains the only Italian boxer to have held universally recognized world titles in two weight categories (middleweight and super welterweight). He has been a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame since 1992, the first Italian to earn this honor. Giovanni, known to all as Nino, was also an actor. In 1969, he debuted in Duccio Tessari's spaghetti-western film, Vivi o preferibilmente morti (Alive or Preferably Dead), alongside Giuliano Gemma, who was his conscript colleague in the fire brigade. In 1975, Benvenuti starred in the crime film Mark il poliziotto spara per primo (Mark the Cop Shoots First). From March 9, 1979, he was also registered with the Lazio Order of Publicist Journalists.

Prime Minister Meloni: "A Symbol of a Proud Italy"

"Farewell to Nino Benvenuti, an extraordinary champion and a symbol of a proud, courageous Italy capable of rising again," stated Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on social media. She emphasized that "he was one of the greatest boxers in our history, but also much more: deeply connected to his Istrian roots, he was a tireless witness to the tragedy of the Foibe massacres and the Giulian-Dalmatian exodus, helping to write a story that had not been told." Meloni added, "My heartfelt thoughts go to his family and all those who loved him. Thank you, Nino, for your fights in the ring and for those in defense of truth. Italy will not forget you."