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 West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

Early life

Blin was born on the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and fr ...

island of Fehmarn on 24 April 1943 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, and was a native of the North German city of

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

. While living in Hamburg he was a butcher before his boxing career.

Boxing career

Blin's record in the ring was 30–12–6 with eight knockouts.Jurgen Blin record
at boxrec.com 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 Gerhard is a name of Germanic origin and may refer to: Given name * Gerhard (bishop of Passau) (fl. 932–946), German prelate * Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg (1292–1340), German prince, regent of Denmark * Gerhard Barkhorn (1919– ...

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. 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. On 26 December 1971, he fought the American boxer

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, ...

at Hallenstadion Arena, in

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich () i ...

, Switzerland, Blin being knocked out 2 minutes and 12 seconds into the seventh round.

Later years

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.

Professional boxing record

, - , align="center" colspan=8, 30 Wins (8 knockouts, 22 decisions), 12 Losses (4 knockouts, 8 decisions), 6 Draws , - , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Result , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Record , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Opponent , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Type , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Round , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Date , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Location , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Notes , -align=center , Loss , , align=left, Ron Lyle , TKO , 2 , 4 October 1973 , align=left,

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

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Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland pe ...

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

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Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...

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Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhab ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Roberto Davila , PTS , 10 , 26 February 1971 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Vasco Faustino , PTS , 8 , 5 February 1971 , align=left,

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its ...

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Da ...

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Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

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Billy Joiner Billy Joiner (10 May 1938 - 2019), was an American professional boxer from Cincinnati, U.S. Early life Joiner was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on 10 May 1938. His father was a former professional boxer, as was his uncle who had once knocked out ...

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, align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left, Jose Manuel Urtain , PTS , 15 , 22 June 1970 , align=left,

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, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Ray Patterson , PTS , 10 , 13 February 1970 , align=left, Ernst Merck Halle, Mitte, Berlin , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Wilhelm Von Homburg , PTS , 10 , 12 December 1969 , align=left, Sporthalle,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Gerhard Zech , PTS , 10 , 21 November 1969 , align=left, Ernst Merck Halle,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, David E. Bailey , PTS , 10 , 12 September 1969 , align=left, Ernst Merck Halle,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Giulio Rinaldi , PTS , 10 , 29 May 1969 , align=left, Grugahalle,

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and ...

, align=left, , - , Draw , , align=left, Macan Keita , PTS , 8 , 29 November 1968 , align=left, Festhalle Frankfurt,

, align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left, Peter Weiland , PTS , 10 , 1 November 1968 , align=left,

Ostseehalle The Wunderino-Arena (formerly known as Ostseehalle) is an indoor arena, in Kiel, Germany. It is primarily used by THW Kiel (team handball) and as a venue for rock/pop concerts. It holds up to 13,500 people. History Construction was determined i ...

, align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left, Piero Tomasoni , DQ , 2 , 29 September 1968 , align=left,

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Ise ...

, Lombardy , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Gerhard Zech , PTS , 12 , 11 May 1968 , align=left,

Deutschlandhalle Deutschlandhalle was an arena located in the Westend neighbourhood of Berlin, Germany. It was inaugurated on 29 November 1935 by Adolf Hitler. The building was granted landmark status in 1995, but was demolished on 3 December 2011. History Built ...

Charlottenburg Charlottenburg () is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Prussia, it is best known for Charlottenburg Palace, the la ...

, Berlin , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Lloyd Walford , PTS , 8 , 8 March 1968 , align=left, Sporthalle,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Renato Moraes , PTS , 10 , 17 February 1968 , align=left,

, Berlin , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Giuseppe Ros , PTS , 8 , 15 December 1967 , align=left, Sporthalle,

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, Berlin , align=left, , - , Draw , , align=left, Jose Menno , PTS , 8 , 8 September 1967 , align=left, Sporthalle,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Ivan Prebeg , KO , 5 , 28 April 1967 , align=left, Sporthalle,

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, align=left, , - , Draw , , align=left, Gerhard Zech , PTS , 12 , 18 November 1966 , align=left, Sporthalle,

, align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left, Giulio Saraudi , PTS , 8 , 23 September 1966 , align=left,

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, align=left, , - , Draw , , align=left, Giulio Rinaldi , PTS , 10 , 2 September 1966 , align=left, Mungersdorfer Stadion,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Ossi Buettner , KO , 8 , 15 June 1966 , align=left, Festhalle Frankfurt,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Roland Graetz , PTS , 6 , 14 May 1966 , align=left, Westfalenhallen,

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is th ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Andre Wyns , PTS , 6 , 15 April 1966 , align=left, Ernst Merck Halle,

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, align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left, Wim Snoek , RTD , 6 , 16 October 1965 , align=left, Westfalenhallen,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Willem Bomber , PTS , 6 , 10 September 1965 , align=left, Ernst Merck Halle,

, align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left, Ray Patterson , PTS , 6 , 21 June 1965 , align=left, Jordal Amfi,

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, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Valere Mahau , PTS , 4 , 9 April 1965 , align=left, Ernst Merck Halle,

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, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Danilo Zoratti , KO , 3 , 30 January 1965 , align=left,

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Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie H ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Friedrich Mayr , KO , 1 , 16 January 1965 , align=left, Westfalenhallen,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Manfred Ackers , PTS , 4 , 5 December 1964 , align=left, Sporthalle,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Klaus Krueger , PTS , 4 , 16 October 1964 , align=left, Sporthalle,

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blin, Jurgen 1943 births 2022 deaths People from Fehmarn European Boxing Union champions German male boxers Heavyweight boxers Deaths from kidney disease Sportspeople from Schleswig-Holstein