René Weller, a former European boxing champion, has passed away. The German passed away on Tuesday, August 22, at the age of 69 due to dementia.
 |
| René Weller |
René Weller was referred to as the “beautiful René,” “Golden Boy,” or simply “Champ” over the course of his boxing career. He was once referred to be “Pforzheim’s answer to Muhammad Ali” by the newspaper “Der Spiegel”.
On Tuesday, René Weller suffered his final defeat. His wife Maria verified this on Wednesday night. She sent a message on their joint Instagram account reading, “Hand in hand and in my arms you left me at home in peace at 5:50pm today.
In Pforzheim, René Weller was born on November 21, 1953. Early boxing training led to the skilled heating engineer and goldsmith’s first national victory at the age of fourteen. He won a total of eight German championship championships among amateurs in the featherweight and lightweight weight classes, and two further DM titles were added among professionals.
In June 1981, Weller engaged in his first professional bout. There were then 54 more lightweight contests. Impressive numbers: Of his 52 victories, Weller has 24 knockout victories. The Pforzheimer was one of Germany’s most well-known boxers despite having only one loss in his professional career. He received five votes for boxer of the year in Germany.
In addition to national recognition, he also won international accolades: In March 1984, he upset Italian and defending European champion Lucio Cusma on points to win the EBU’s first-ever European Championship. However, he suffered his first and only professional defeat two years later and forfeited the title.
Five years later, on March 5, 1988, in front of his home audience in Karlsruhe, the then 34-year-old defeated Frenchman José Maillot on points and was once more able to claim the title of European Champion of the EBU. Only one month later, Weller used the victory over his championship defence to voluntarily quit the title. At age 40, he called it quits on his fighting career in 1993.
The Pforzheimer was frequently at the pinnacle of his sporting career, but outside of the ring for boxing, he was also at the bottom. Weller was divisive in the ring, and for him, victories in the ring were equally as essential as huge fights and a good presentation. However, the show came to an end in 1999 when Weller received a seven-year jail term for cocaine trafficking, forgery, and receiving stolen property. He was let out of jail early in 2003 for good behaviour after serving four and a half years.
After that, Weller participated in a number of reality TV contests, fought in exhibition matches, and obtained his boxing coaching licence. Weller suffered with severe dementia and the disease’s adverse effects in his later years. Maria, his wife, provided for him while they shared a house in Pforzheim, Weller’s hometown. In a 2013 SWR interview on the occasion of his 60th birthday, Weller remarked, “I’ve had such a great life, with all the ups and downs you can imagine.” But I refused to switch places with anyone.
Source: DER SPIEGEL/SWR/dpa