Jürgen Blin (24 April 1943 – 7 May 2022) was a mid-20th century German boxer, who was the Heavyweight Champion of Germany, and European Heavyweight Champion in 1972, and internationally represented the state of West Germany.

Jürgen Blin
Jürgen Blin (left) against Peter Weiland (right) for the German Heavyweight Championship in Kiel, 1968
Born(1943-04-07)7 April 1943
Died7 May 2022(2022-05-07) (aged 79)
Hamburg, Germany
Boxing career
Statistics
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Boxing record
Total fights48
Wins30
Wins by KO8
Losses12

Early life edit

Blin was born on the Baltic Sea island of Fehmarn on 24 April 1943 during World War II, and was a native of the North German city of Hamburg. While living in Hamburg he was a butcher before his boxing career.

Boxing career edit

Blin's record in the ring was 30–12–6 with eight knockouts.[1] He was greatly admired by German boxing fans for his toughness and stamina in the ring. He was briefly Heavyweight Champion of Germany after defeating Gerhard Zech for the title (he had two draws with him previously).

His first professional bout came against Klaus Krüger in October 1964. Blin won this bout, as well as the next five bouts against domestic opponents, and lost his first professional bout in June 1965 to Ray Patterson in Jordal Amfi.[1]

Blin lost a decision to Joe Bugner in May 1971 when fighting for the European Heavyweight title. Blin later won the title in June 1972, his greatest triumph in the ring, when he beat Jose Urtain (who had beaten Blin for the same title in June 1970). However, in October 1972, Blin once again faced Bugner who regained the title by knocking the German out in the eighth round.[1]

On 26 December 1971, he fought the American boxer Muhammad Ali at Hallenstadion Arena, in Zürich, Switzerland, Blin being knocked out 2 minutes and 12 seconds into the seventh round.[1]

Later years edit

Blin was co-author with Stephen Brunt of a chapter in a book titled Facing Ali (2002), about his 1971 contest with the United States champion boxer. He died of kidney failure at a hospital in Hamburg on 6 May 2022, aged 79.[2][3]

Professional boxing record edit

30 Wins (8 knockouts, 22 decisions), 12 Losses (4 knockouts, 8 decisions), 6 Draws [4]
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Loss 24-1   Ron Lyle TKO 2 4 October 1973   Denver, Colorado Referee stopped the bout at 1:01 of the second round.
Win 0-9   Danny Machado TKO 7 3 February 1973   Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein
Loss 39-4-1   Joe Bugner KO 8 10 October 1972   Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London EBU Heavyweight Title.
Win 39-4-2   Jose Manuel Urtain PTS 15 9 June 1972   Madrid EBU Heavyweight Title. 73-68, 72-70, 71-67.
Win 21-13-1   Charles E. Chase KO 5 5 May 1972   Hamburg
Loss 33-1   Muhammad Ali KO 7 26 December 1971   Hallenstadion, Zürich Blin knocked out at 2:12 of the seventh round.
Win 18-20-4   George "Scrap Iron" Johnson TKO 2 1 October 1971   Hamburg
Loss 32-2-1   Joe Bugner SD 15 11 May 1971   Empire Pool, Wembley, London EBU Heavyweight Title. 69-70, 70-67, 71-73.
Win 24-14-3   Manuel "Pulgarcito" Ramos PTS 10 2 April 1971   Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia
Win 21-22   Roberto Davila PTS 10 26 February 1971   Hamburg
Win 7-7-2   Vasco Faustino PTS 8 5 February 1971   Frankfurt, Hesse
Win 13-16-3   Charley Polite PTS 10 2 January 1971   Wiesbaden, Hesse
Win 7-6   Sylvester Dullaire KO 8 17 November 1970   Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia
Win 10-7-3   Billy Joiner PTS 10 9 October 1970   Hamburg
Loss 30-0   Jose Manuel Urtain PTS 15 22 June 1970   Barcelona, Catalonia EBU Heavyweight Title.
Win 23-8-4   Ray Patterson PTS 10 13 February 1970   Ernst Merck Halle, Mitte, Berlin
Win 30-9-6   Wilhelm Von Homburg PTS 10 12 December 1969   Sporthalle, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia
Win 33-9-3   Gerhard Zech PTS 10 21 November 1969   Ernst Merck Halle, Hamburg
Win 17-17-3   David E. Bailey PTS 10 12 September 1969   Ernst Merck Halle, Hamburg
Win 41-13-5   Giulio Rinaldi PTS 10 29 May 1969   Grugahalle, Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia
Draw 3-2-1   Macan Keita PTS 8 29 November 1968   Festhalle Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Hesse
Loss 20-3-2   Peter Weiland PTS 10 1 November 1968   Ostseehalle, Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein Germany BDB Heavyweight Title.
Loss 32-6-5   Piero Tomasoni DQ 2 29 September 1968   Brescia, Lombardy EBU Heavyweight Title Eliminator.
Win 33-7-3   Gerhard Zech PTS 12 11 May 1968   Deutschlandhalle, Charlottenburg, Berlin Germany BDB Heavyweight Title.
Win 15-12-3   Lloyd Walford PTS 8 8 March 1968   Sporthalle, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia
Win 22-11-3   Renato Moraes PTS 10 17 February 1968   Deutschlandhalle, Charlottenburg, Berlin
Win 18-3   Giuseppe Ros PTS 8 15 December 1967   Sporthalle, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia
Loss 33-3-3   Piero Del Papa PTS 10 11 November 1967   Deutschlandhalle, Charlottenburg, Berlin
Draw 19-11-3   Jose Menno PTS 8 8 September 1967   Sporthalle, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia
Win 16-11-3   Ivan Prebeg KO 5 28 April 1967   Sporthalle, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia
Draw 32-6-2   Gerhard Zech PTS 12 24 February 1967   Sporthalle, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia Germany BDB Heavyweight Title.
Draw 32-6-1   Gerhard Zech PTS 12 18 November 1966   Sporthalle, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia Germany BDB Heavyweight Title.
Loss 6-0-2   Giulio Saraudi PTS 8 23 September 1966   Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio
Draw 40-9-3   Giulio Rinaldi PTS 10 2 September 1966   Mungersdorfer Stadion, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia
Win 18-15-6   Ossi Buettner KO 8 15 June 1966   Festhalle Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Hesse
Win 6-5-1   Roland Graetz PTS 6 14 May 1966   Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia
Win 10-27-2   Andre Wyns PTS 6 15 April 1966   Ernst Merck Halle, Hamburg
Draw 1-0   Raimo Nisula PTS 8 18 March 1966   Masshallen, Gothenburg
Loss 8-8-2   Joseph Juvillier PTS 8 2 December 1965   Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia
Loss 46-25-6   Wim Snoek RTD 6 16 October 1965   Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia
Win 10-10-4   Willem Bomber PTS 6 10 September 1965   Ernst Merck Halle, Hamburg
Loss 10-2   Ray Patterson PTS 6 21 June 1965   Jordal Amfi, Oslo
Win 7-10-2   Valere Mahau PTS 4 9 April 1965   Ernst Merck Halle, Hamburg
Win 0-1   Manfred Schlesinger PTS 6 27 March 1965   Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia
Win 3-1   Danilo Zoratti KO 3 30 January 1965   Stadthalle Bremen, Bremen
Win 1-6-1   Friedrich Mayr KO 1 16 January 1965   Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia
Win 1-7   Manfred Ackers PTS 4 5 December 1964   Sporthalle, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia
Win --   Klaus Krueger PTS 4 16 October 1964   Sporthalle, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d Jurgen Blin record at boxrec.com
  2. ^ Schuetze, Christopher F. (16 May 2022). "Jürgen Blin, Who Went 7 Rounds Against Ali, Dies at 79". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  3. ^ Er kämpfte gegen Ali - Trauer um Ex-Boxer Jürgen Blin (in German)
  4. ^ "BoxRec". boxrec.com.