Nino Benvenuti: From Istria and Rome 1960 Olympic Gold to the Griffith Trilogy and Monzón

Nino Benvenuti was born on the Istrian coast in a town that is now in Slovenia. He won Olympic gold in Rome, held world titles at junior middleweight and middleweight, and fought Emile Griffith three times in New York. Carlos Monzón ended his career in two fights, and Benvenuti later stayed close to both men. He died in Rome on May 20, 2025, aged 87.

A Childhood on the Istrian Shore

Giovanni Benvenuti, known to everyone as Nino, was born on April 26, 1938, in Isola d'Istria, a fishing town on the Adriatic that belonged to Italy at the time. Today it is Izola, in Slovenia. Under the postwar settlement Istria went to Yugoslavia, and Wikipedia records that his family left for Italy as a result. Benvenuti later made his life around Trieste, where he made his professional debut and where he eventually served on the city council.

The World Boxing Council's obituary says he first took up boxing at thirteen. By the late 1950s he was Italy's best amateur. Wikipedia lists Italian national titles from 1956 to 1960 and European championship gold medals at light middleweight in Prague in 1957 and in Lucerne in 1959.

Rome 1960: Gold and the Val Barker Trophy

The 1960 Olympics were held in Rome, and Benvenuti won the welterweight tournament in front of a home crowd. According to Boxing News, Liverpool's Jim Lloyd was one of the men he beat along the way, and Reuters, via ESPN, names Yuri Radonyak as his opponent in the final. He also received the Val Barker Trophy, which goes to the best stylist of the Games. The WBC noted that this meant he was chosen ahead of a young Cassius Clay. The WBC piece puts his gold at super welterweight, while Wikipedia, Dan Rafael and Boxing News all say welterweight.

Sources also disagree on his amateur record. Wikipedia lists it as 120-0. Rafael says it was either 120-0 or 119-1 depending on the source, and the WBC counts 120 bouts with a single defeat.

Turning Professional and the Mazzinghi Wars

His first professional fight came on January 20, 1961, in Trieste, a six-round decision over Ben Ali Allala. He went on winning for more than four years, and that run set up an all-Italian title fight with Sandro Mazzinghi, the world junior middleweight champion.

They met on June 18, 1965, at the San Siro stadium in Milan, and Benvenuti knocked Mazzinghi out in the sixth round to take the title. In a rematch in Rome on December 17 of that year he won a fifteen-round decision.

Seoul and the End of a Streak

On June 25, 1966, Benvenuti defended the title in Seoul against South Korea's Ki-Soo Kim. Kim won over fifteen rounds and took the championship. Rafael describes the verdict as a split decision. Wikipedia notes that the defeat ended a run of 65 straight wins. Benvenuti did not try to win the junior middleweight title back. He moved up to middleweight instead.

Three Nights With Emile Griffith

The undisputed middleweight champion in 1967 was Emile Griffith. On April 17 of that year Benvenuti fought him at Madison Square Garden. Both men were knocked down during the fight, and Benvenuti won a unanimous decision over fifteen rounds to become champion. Rafael notes that The Ring named it Fight of the Year.

The rematch was held outdoors at Shea Stadium in Queens on September 29, 1967. This time Griffith knocked Benvenuti down in the fourteenth round and won the title back by majority decision.

The third fight took place on March 4, 1968, back at Madison Square Garden. Benvenuti knocked Griffith down in the ninth round and won a unanimous decision to become middleweight champion again. The Ring named him its Fighter of the Year for 1968.

Champion Again, With Cracks Showing

Benvenuti defended the title several times. He beat Don Fullmer on points over fifteen rounds in San Remo on December 14, 1968. On October 4, 1969, Fraser Scott was disqualified in the seventh round in Naples, and on November 22 of the same year Benvenuti knocked out Luis Rodríguez in the eleventh round in Rome. He also lost some fights in which the title was not at stake. On May 26, 1969, at Madison Square Garden, the veteran Dick Tiger beat him on points over ten rounds.

Carlos Monzón and the Last Two Fights

On November 7, 1970, Benvenuti defended the title in Rome against Carlos Monzón, an Argentine who was little known outside South America. Monzón stopped him in the twelfth round and took the championship. Rafael notes that The Ring made this its Fight of the Year as well.

By then Benvenuti's career was ending. In March 1971, according to Rafael, he lost a majority decision to José Roberto Chirino. He had one more chance against Monzón, on May 8, 1971, in Monte Carlo. The fight ended in the third round when Benvenuti's corner threw in the towel. It was his last fight. He retired with a record of 82 wins, 7 losses and 1 draw from 90 professional fights, with 35 wins by knockout. Boxing News adds that he boxed 707 rounds in all.

Screen, Studio and Council Chamber

After boxing, Benvenuti worked in several fields. He appeared in two Italian films, Sundance and the Kid in 1969 and Mark Shoots First in 1975. Rafael and Boxing News both say he also worked on television, and Wikipedia describes him as a TV pundit. He went into business and opened a restaurant, and he served Trieste as city councillor for sport. He married twice and had several children. The International Boxing Hall of Fame inducted him in 1992.

Old Rivals, Lasting Friends

Benvenuti stayed close to the two men who had beaten him for the middleweight title. Wikipedia says that in 1980 he asked Griffith to be godfather to one of his sons, and Bobby Franklin's 2018 article for Boxing Over Broadway also says Griffith was godfather to one of Benvenuti's sons. Franklin adds that Benvenuti helped Griffith with money.

He also supported Monzón. When Monzón was accused of murdering his wife, Benvenuti stood by him, and when Monzón died in 1995, Benvenuti was a pallbearer at his funeral.

Benvenuti died in Rome on May 20, 2025. The cause of death was not announced at the time. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote, "Italy will not forget you," in a tribute quoted by Reuters. The WBC's Mauro Betti called him "a hero."

Sources

• Nino Benvenuti, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
• All-time great Nino Benvenuti dies, Dan Rafael (Substack), May 21, 2025
• Nino Benvenuti, Olympic and professional boxing champ, dies, Reuters via ESPN, May 20, 2025
• Boxing legend Nino Benvenuti dies aged 87, Boxing News, May 20, 2025
• Nino Benvenuti, the Cesar of boxing, has died, Cesar Navarro, World Boxing Council, May 20, 2025
• Emile Griffith and Nino Benvenuti, Bobby Franklin, Boxing Over Broadway, January 26, 2018