Marijan Beneš

Marijan Beneš Маријан Бенеш Marijan Beneš in 2009 Statistics Real name Marijan Beneš Rated at Light welterweight Nationality Yugoslavian Born (1951-06-11) 11 June 1951 Belgrade, PR Serbia, FPR Yugoslavia Stance Orthodox Boxing record Total fights 394 Wins 309 Wins by KO 7 Losses 29 Draws 1 No contests 0 Marijan Beneš Medal record Men’s Boxing Representing Yugoslavia European Amateur Boxing Championships 1973 Belgrade Light welterweight

Marijan Beneš (Serbian Cyrillic: Маријан Бенеш; born 11 June 1951) is a former Yugoslavian boxer from Bosnia and Herzegovina, still considered one of the best in Yugoslav history. After a brilliant amateur career, culminating in the gold medal in European Amateur Boxing Championships in Belgrade, he turned professional in 1977, and won the European Boxing Union title in the light welterweight in 1979. Beneš withdrew from the ring in 1983, after a severe eye injury.

Biography

Marijan was born in Belgrade to Croat father Josip and Serb mother Marija (née Vuhić). Under the influence of his father, a music teacher, Marijan played piano and violin in his childhood. He had three brothers and one sister. He spent his childhood in Tuzla. However, his life will take a radical turn when he (allegedly) entered the ring at the age a 10 and won against an 18-year-old opponent. When he was 16, he signed for the Slavija boxing club in Banja Luka, where he would stay during his amateur career.

He is a staunch opposer to "Greater Serbs and Greater Croats", maintaining his Yugoslav identity.

Career

During his amateur career, Beneš won 9 titles in SR Bosnia, 4 titles of Yugoslavian champion, and a number of other competitions. In 1973, he won the European title in light welterweight in Belgrade and he received the "Golden Badge", an award for the Best Athlete of the year in Yugoslavia. Soon after he caught hepatitis, a fact that could mean the end of the career. "Radically stubborn" (as he said himself), and devoted to boxing, he decided to continue. He also participated in the 1976 Montreal Olympics, but lost in the second round.

He turned professional in 1977, rising quickly to the European top. On 17 March 1979, in his hometown Banja Luka, he won the EBU title knocking down the defender, French boxer Gilbert Cohen, in the fourth round. He defended the title successfully four times, and lost on points in 1980 to then WBA champion Ayub Kalule, in a match regarded as one of toughest in the Denmark ever. He eventually lost the EBU crown to Louis Acaries in 1981.

A heavy injury on the left eye effectively sealed his career. It is not exactly known which match caused it; by one account, it was a match with Luigi Minchillo in 1983, and by another, it originated from the 1979 match with Sandy Torres in Zenica, and the condition worsened since. During the career, he suffered a number of other injuries: 26 bone fractures and damaged vocal cords, that cause him to speak silently and slowly. He is currently blind on his left eye. Beneš withdrew from the ring in 1983, fighting only two more exhibition matches in 1990s.

Aftermath

His brother was killed in 1992, during the Bosnian War. Marijan participated in the war. At the end of the war in 1995, Beneš (of non-Serb origin) was forced to leave Banja Luka after a number of threats. He sold his possessions cheaply, and during the war he stayed in Medulin and Zagreb, in Croatia, in poverty. He divorced from his wife Stana, who moved to Niš, Serbia, with their daughters Žanet and Marijana. As he put it, "everything turned around; people started hating each other overnight… there are great people, but the war helped me realize who is the real people and who is scum." He returned to Banja Luka in 1996, after the end of the war, continuing to live in modesty. "I lived in Croatia, people respected me, but I'm used to the old friends".

In 2004, a documentary film of Beneš's life, titled Bio jednom jedan šampion (Once Upon a Time There Was a Champion) was recorded in the production of Independent Television Banja Luka. Despite modest ambitions, it toured all over the former Yugoslavia, and Beneš was frequent guest on promotions.

Beneš still lives in Banja Luka, in modesty, mostly financed by his sister Ljiljana. He published a book of poems Druga strana medalje (Another Side of Coin), devoted to sports, and he said that he has written a dozen more, and that he plans to publish them. He still trains every day and has healthy diet.

Boxing record as a professional

32 Wins (21 knockouts, 11 decisions), 6 Losses (3 knockouts, 3 decisions), 1 Draw [1]
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Win	--	Cliff McCourry	KO	2	02/02/1997	Pozega, Croatia
Win	9-2	Salvatore Di Salvatore	TKO	5	03/05/1991	Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Win	25-14-2	Maurice Bufi	KO	6	02/12/1983	Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle, Stuttgart, Germany
Loss	20-32-1	Johnny Heard	KO	1	16/04/1983	Salzburg, Austria
Win	7-4	Mbayo Wa Mbayo	RTD	6	31/03/1983	Split, Croatia
Win	11-3-1	Darwin Brewster	PTS	10	27/01/1983	Rijeka, Croatia
Loss	39-2	Luigi Minchillo	MD	12	28/10/1982	San Severo, Italy	EBU Light Middleweight Title. 116-116, 116-118, 114-118.
Win	7-4-2	Gordie Lawson	KO	4	10/06/1982	Podgorica, Montenegro
Win	--	Tony Desroche	KO	2	09/03/1982	Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Win	14-11-3	Randy Milton	KO	1	19/12/1981	Split, Croatia
Win	15-5-2	Franz Dorfer	TKO	4	06/11/1981	Vienna, Austria
Win	8-2-4	Andre Mongelema	PTS	10	18/09/1981	Vienna, Austria
Loss	29-3	Louis Acaries	PTS	12	19/03/1981	Paris, France	EBU Light Middleweight Title.
Win	12-4-1	Antonio Alejandro Garrido	TKO	9	09/02/1981	Vienna, Austria
Win	32-14-4	Sandy Torres	PTS	10	20/12/1980	Split, Croatia
Win	37-8-5	Georges Warusfel	TKO	5	06/10/1980	Paris, France	EBU Light Middleweight Title.
Loss	33-0	Ayub Kalule	UD	15	12/06/1980	Randers Hallen, Randers, Denmark	WBA World Light Middleweight Title. 145-149, 142-149, 147-149.
Win	10-8-2	Freddie Boynton	KO	3	28/03/1980	Berlin, Germany
Draw	29-4-1	Damiano Lassandro	PTS	12	13/02/1980	Pesaro, Italy	EBU Light Middleweight Title.
Win	19-0-2	Adrie Huussen	TKO	3	05/11/1979	Sportpaleis Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands	EBU Light Middleweight Title.
Loss	29-12-4	Sandy Torres	TKO	6	25/08/1979	Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Win	26-0	Andoni Amana	TKO	8	06/06/1979	Bilbao, Spain	EBU Light Middleweight Title.
Win	23-13-1	Zip Castillo	KO	1	28/04/1979	Belgrade, Serbia
Win	20-2-1	Gilbert Cohen	KO	4	17/03/1979	Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina	EBU Light Middleweight Title.
Win	72-17-27	Everaldo Costa Azevedo	PTS	10	18/11/1978	Berlin, Germany
Win	68-5-4	Elisha Obed	PTS	10	02/09/1978	Berlin, Germany
Win	3-11	Tiger Quaye	PTS	8	29/05/1978	Sportpaleis Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Win	8-4-2	Peter "Cricket" Neal	KO	5	06/05/1978	Frankfurt, Germany
Win	3-10	Tiger Quaye	KO	1	07/04/1978	Berlin, Germany
Loss	2-10	Tiger Quaye	TKO	3	15/02/1978	Sportpaleis Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Win	28-7-3	Pat Thomas	PTS	8	16/01/1978	Rotterdam, Netherlands
Win	12-8	Wa Bukasa	KO	3	16/12/1977	Vienna, Austria
Win	21-7-1	Steve Angell	TKO	4	10/12/1977	Berlin, Germany
Win	19-5-1	Alain Ruocco	PTS	8	18/11/1977	Vienna, Austria
Win	10-8-2	Mick Minter	TKO	2	31/10/1977	Sportpaleis Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Win	23-32-4	Scottish John Smith	PTS	8	10/10/1977	Sportpaleis Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Win	--	Rhida Hakima	KO	2	01/10/1977	Vienna, Austria
Win	15-12-5	Pascal Zito	PTS	6	24/09/1977	Vienna, Austria
Win	31-11-4	Clement Tshinza	PTS	4	06/08/1977	Deutschlandhalle, Charlottenburg, Germany

See also

• Mate Parlov

External links

• Professional boxing record for Marijan Beneš from BoxRec

Awards
Preceded by Mate Parlov	The Best Athlete of Yugoslavia 1973	Succeeded by Mate Parlov