If one were talking about Italian boxers, it would be impossible for them to miss Giovanni Nino Benvenuti’s name. After Primo Carnera, the 82-7 boxer stood alongside the greatest boxers like Duilio Loi, Sandro Mazzinghi, and more, not only as the country’s but some of the world’s best fighters. But as they say, every era eventually ends, and so did Nino’s. Today, with 90 fights on his professional record, the 1960 Rome Olympic gold medalist has left fans remembering him with a heavy heart. On Tuesday, the Italian Olympic Committee announced his death, but no cause was cited. Likely, natural death, since Nino lived a good 87 years.

On May While Nino served the boxing community in the ring for a decade from 1961 to 1971, the current generation of fanatics used to know him way after retirement, when he switched to being an actor, and sports commentator, and from when he was ranked seventh on The Ring Magazine’s 10 best middleweight title holders in fifty years. No small feat at all. Benvenuti held the undisputed middleweight championship twice, first from April to September 1967, and then from March 1968 to November 1970. In 1992, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, cementing his status as one of the greatest boxers of all time. Now with his passing, several fanatics and boxers who considered him a role model came together to mourn the community’s shared loss. And one of them was fellow Italian boxer, Paul Malignaggi.

Hours ago, Boxing Scene shared a post on their Instagram handle, capturing the former 36-8 boxer’s reminiscing thoughts perfectly. “For boxing, Bevenuti, if you look at even his image in Italy, he’s probably the most well-known boxer in Italian history. I know there’s guys like Primo Carnera and guys like that from Italy. And there’s also been some very good boxers that we’ll get into in a bit from Italy, but Benvenuti transcended more the culture worldwide,” said Magic Man.

It was a tribute to the imprint Nino has in the world, more specifically in his own nation, Italy. Continuing the honors, Malignaggi spoke about Benvenuti in a way someone who has closely witnessed him would. “There were other champions in Italy, but Benvenuti, I don’t know, it was a matter of charisma, image, championship caliber, because he had a lot of big fights and big wins, even on American soil,” the 44-year-old adored. You see, Benvenuti’s charm was something that kept him a favorite, whatever he did, be it being a businessman, TV pundit, and city counsellor for sport.

And that’s what Malignaggi thought, too. “He also had a post-fight career where he was an analyst and a TV guy like ourselves, and carried himself very well as public image, and brand was carried very well in Italy throughout his life. I was at live events in the last 10 years, where he was still calling fights,” he said. “So he lasted into the business for a long time into his life after having a Hall of Fame calliber championship career.“

To Malignaggi, that is what stood out the most out of the almost nine decades of experience Benvenuti got to live through. Concluding his sentiments and tribute in just a few lines, the Brooklyn native said, “So, for boxing and for Italians, obviously because that’s where the culture is closer to, it’s a big loss. It may be THE biggest loss in terms of speaking boxing people for Italians.“

Nino Benvenuti – A beautiful story to be cherished through boxing’s history

Born on April 26, 1938, in Isola d’Istria (then part of Italy, now Izola, Slovenia), Benvenuti grew up through World War II. When he was just 13, he started boxing, encouraged by his father, also a former boxer. Due to Yugoslav persecution of Italians, his family fled Istria to settle in Trieste, Italy, where he continued to train at the Trieste Boxing Academy. Just four years into the sport, Benvenuti joined the Italian national team after he was consistent with regional victories, becoming the Italian welterweight champion for the first time. Later on, he continued to do so five times consecutively (1956–1960).

You could say that Nino was a born natural. But, as every athlete has a bad day, so did his come when he failed to qualify for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, a setback mitigated by later successes. Climbing up the ladder, he eventually became the welterweight gold medalist at the 1960 Rome Olympics on September 5, defeating Soviet boxer Yuri Radonyak (4-1). He received the Val Barker Trophy for best technical boxer, outshining Cassius Clay, or you can say the legendary boxer known by the name of Muhammad Ali. With an already strong amateur record of 120 fights and no losses, Benvenuti made his professional debut in January 1961.

The same year, he married Giuliana Fonzari, later sharing four sons and an adopted Tunisian daughter with her. Two years in, he was already the Italian middleweight champion, knocking out Tommaso Truppi in round 11. Then, moving up in weight, he became the WBA and WBC light middleweight champion by knocking out Sandro Mazzinghi in the sixth round in Milan. A crowd of 40,000 fans at San Siro Stadium stood to witness the win. Around 1969, when he was at a good spot in his boxing career, Benvenuti also made an acting debut in the Italian spaghetti western Sundance and the Kid. Moving forth, he chose to retire in 1971 after title defenses and losses, trying to reclaim the middleweight title from Carlos Monzón but unsuccessfully losing by third-round TKO.

Post boxing, Benvenuti did not stop working. He pursued his acting passions, worked as a sports commentator for Italy’s RAI television network, ventured into owning a high-class restaurant, and became a film consultant as well. So, you could say that the champion lived to the fullest and died without regrets. In the loving memories of those he shared great times with and his ever-strong fanbase, he shall live in Italians’ and the world’s boxing hearts alike.