https://www.ansa.it/amp/english/new...d-2_36234bd7-8b05-4a30-ad76-3e9aa725adcd.html One of the greatest. Very good looking too. I can easily see him as a teen idol had he been an actor. On the cover of Tiger Beat and 16. Easily. He and Monzon, as actors, would have been the Coreys of the 1960s. RIP champ.
As a 9-year-old boxing fan, I thought that Sports Illustrated cover from 1967 where the top part of the page was him connecting with a right hand on Emile Griffith and the bottom part of the page was him dining on pasta with a couple of wine bottles in front of him was one of the most supremely cool things I’d ever seen.
Nino was a very loyal friend. He stayed friends with Emile Griffith long after their fighting days, flying Emile to Italy to have him become godfather of Nino’s son and later coming to America to help the struggling Griffith out financially. He also stayed friends with Carlos Monzon and supported Carlos when Monzon was arrested (and convicted) of murder, even visiting him in prison in Argentina. Class act. RIP champ.
Slight correction : Benvenuti went 119-1 as an amateur. His only loss occurred in Turkey, to a Turk. A decision Benvenuti strongly contested. RIP champ.