Roberto Welin is a former

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

, born on April 9, 1966 in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. During his amateur career, Welin represented clubs in

Västerås Västerås () is a city in central Sweden on the shore of Mälaren, Lake Mälaren in the province of Västmanland, west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 127,799 at the end of 2019, out of the municipal total of 158,653, over 100,000 mo ...

such as BK Rapid,

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

IF Linnéa IF Linnéa was a sports club in Stockholm, which was subsequently split into two clubs, IF Linnéa Friidrott and IF Linnéa Boxning. IF Linnéa Friidrott was the section for athletics and IF Linnéa Boxning was the section for boxing. IF Linnéa ...

, and

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

's GAK Enighet."Roberto Welin" (amateur statistics).
mrboxhist.se. Accessed July 30, 2024.

Biography

Background

Roberto Welin was born in São Paulo, Brazil. He grew up in

Carazinho Carazinho is a city located 246 km from Porto Alegre, in the northwest portion of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Carazinho was founded on 1931 and as of 2020 has a population of 62,265. Carazinho's primary economy is focused on agr ...

in the southern part of the country (the state of

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

), where his Swedish-born father, Gunnar Welin, managed a large agricultural business. As a teenager, Roberto Welin moved to Sweden.Johansson, Olof
"Roberto Welin".
ne.se. Accessed July 30, 2024.

1980s

Welin made his Swedish Championship debut in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

but was defeated by

Lars Myrberg Lars Mikael Myrberg (born 23 November 1964) is a Swedish former boxer who won a light welterweight bronze medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Myrberg represented Djurgårdens IF Djurgårdens Idrottsförening, commonly known simply as Djurgå ...

in the second round. His international debut, however, occurred a year earlier when Welin lost to Yugoslavia's Djorde Petronievic by technical knockout in Malmö (Yugoslavia won the match 8-3). His first major championship came in

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

when he won the South Swedish Championship. That same year, Welin also became the Swedish champion after knocking out

Säffle Säffle () is a locality and the seat of Säffle Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden with 9,150 inhabitants in 2016. In 1951 the town of Säffle was officially awarded City status, the last place for this to occur in Sweden. This was abolished ...

boxer Conny Olausson in the final on

February 27 Events Pre-1600 * 380 – Edict of Thessalonica: Emperor Theodosius I and his co-emperors Gratian and Valentinian II declare their wish that all Roman citizens convert to Nicene Christianity. * 425 – The University of Constantin ...

. Welin made his

European Championship A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

debut in May and won his first match against a Polish boxer but was then knocked out by Mujo Bajrovic from Yugoslavia. His World Championship debut occurred in September in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. While in the then-turbulent Moscow, Welin defeated a boxer from

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and a

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

ian but lost a close quarter-final match to

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

Raul Marquez Raul, Raúl, Raül, and Raüll are forms of a common first name in Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan. The name is cognate of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph and the French R ...

European Champion

The year

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

started well as Welin repeated his Swedish Championship victory by knocking out a Småland boxer in the final on

February 25 Events Pre-1600 * 138 – Roman emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius as his son, effectively making him his successor. * 628 – Khosrow II, the last great Shah of the Sasanian Empire (Iran), is overthrown by his son Kavadh II. * ...

. There were not many medal expectations for Welin heading into the home European Championships in Gothenburg. Nevertheless, Welin started the championship brilliantly on

May 8 Events Pre-1600 * 453 BC – Spring and Autumn period: The house of Zhao defeats the house of Zhi, ending the Battle of Jinyang, a military conflict between the elite families of the State of Jin. * 413 – Emperor Honorius signs a ...

, when he knocked out an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

boxer and then decisively defeated a Turkish boxer (23-10) the next day. In the semi-final, Welin faced his rival from the European Championships two years earlier, Yugoslavian Bajrovic. This time, however, Bajrovic was no match, and Welin's victory margin was 18-11. In the final on

May 12 Events Pre-1600 * 254 – Pope Stephen I succeeds Pope Lucius I, becoming the 23rd pope of the Catholic Church, and immediately takes a stand against Novatianism. * 907 – Zhu Wen forces Emperor Ai into abdicating, ending the ...

, the heavily favored Soviet boxer Vladimir Yereshchenko awaited. Nothing could stop the home boxer, as Welin overwhelmed Yereshchenko with punches and won by clear judge scores (24-15). This European Championship title was Sweden's first in 40 years! The previous one had been won by

Stig Sjölin Stig Karl Olof Sjölin (21 December 1928 – 9 January 1995) was a Swedish middleweight boxer. He competed at the 1952 and 1956 Olympics and finished in third and ninth place, respectively. Between 1949 and 1955 he won four medals at European ch ...

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. However, there was a near miss with the European Championship adventure. National coach Leif Carlsson assessed Walle Haddad as being equal to Welin. Therefore, a selection match was to be held to determine who would represent Sweden in the Gothenburg championship. Haddad complained about a hand injury and refused to compete in the selection match. Carlsson then selected Welin for the championship, and in hindsight, even Haddad could hardly question that decision."2006 Week 44 Interview with Leif Carlsson".
rogerpettersson.com. Accessed July 30, 2024. Soon after the European triumph, Welin announced he would leave

amateur boxing Amateur boxing is the variant of boxing practiced in clubs and associations around the world, at the Olympic Games, Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games, as well as at the varsity sports, collegiate level. Amateur boxing bouts comprise three ...

to seek success as a

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

. His last amateur match was on January 27, 1992 in a team match against

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in Stockholm. Welin won his match by technical knockout, but the team match ended in a draw.

Professional career

Welin made his professional debut on June 13, 1992, when he knocked out American Darrell Walker in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. Welin won four more matches against modest opposition in the United States before suffering his first defeat by technical knockout against

Ugandan Demographic features of the population of Uganda include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and others. Population According to the total population was in , comp ...

Richard Okumu in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. After the loss, Welin recorded eight victories in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

and six victories in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

before he was defeated by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Chris Saunders on

December 17 Events Pre-1600 * 497 BC – The first Saturnalia festival was celebrated in ancient Rome. * 546 – Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoths under king Totila plunder the city, by bribing the Eastern Roman garrison. * 920 – Romanos I ...

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

. During

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, Welin fought five matches (four wins and one loss); among other victories, he knocked out

Pori Pori (; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Satakunta. It is located on the west coast of the country, on the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Pori is approximately , while the Pori sub-region, sub-region has a population of a ...

boxer Joni Nyman in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. On May 8,

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, Welin finally got his title match for the WBU world championship belt. American Emmett Linton knocked out the Swede in just two minutes and 45 seconds."Roberto Welin" (professional statistics).
boxrec.com. Accessed July 30, 2024. After the match, Welin announced his retirement. Overall, Roberto Welin won 23 of his 27 professional matches.

Personal life

Welin trained as an aircraft mechanic before starting his professional career. After his boxing career, he took up employment in this field in the United States. The latest records of Welin indicate that he lives with his wife and children in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

where he runs his own business."Your South Florida 'Certified Residential Specialist'".
welinhomes.com. Accessed July 30, 2024. Welin's son Kevin has followed in his father's footsteps and trained in boxing with GAK Enighet in Malmö.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Welin, Roberto Swedish male boxers Athletes from São Paulo 1966 births Living people