Jürgen Blin

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Jürgen Blin boxer
Jürgen Blin (left) against Peter Weiland (right) for the German heavyweight championship in Kiel; 1968

Jürgen Blin (left) against Peter Weiland (right) for the German heavyweight championship in Kiel; 1968
Data
Birth Name Jürgen Blin
Weight class Heavyweight
nationality GermanGerman German
birthday April 24, 1943
place of birth Castle on Fehmarn
style Left delivery
size 1.85 m
Combat Statistics
Struggles 48
Victories 31
Knockout victories 9
Defeats 11
draw 6th

Jürgen Blin (born April 24, 1943 in Burg auf Fehmarn ) is a former German heavyweight boxer . He was European heavyweight champion and was considered Germany's best professional boxer at the beginning of the 1970s.

Life

Childhood and youth

Jürgen Blin is the son of a milker who was alcoholic . He often had to help his father with the milking and was teased at school because he smelled of cow dung in the stable after his morning work. The family had to move frequently in his childhood, and Blin grew up at times in Scharbeutz , Reinfeld and Großensee . At the age of 14 he went to Hamburg on his own initiative, first worked as a cabin boy in the seafaring, then completed an apprenticeship as a butcher and became a master butcher. During this time, he began training in a boxing school across from the butcher's shop.

Career

Blin boxed among others at the Hamburg club HBC Heros . He won the Hamburg championship title in 1962. In 1964 he became German amateur heavyweight champion. Since he had missed the qualification for the Olympic Games, he moved to the professional camp in the same year. For most of his career he boxed with a weight of less than 90 kg and would therefore be classified in the cruiser weight class by today's standards .

After six wins in a row, Blin suffered his first defeat in June 1965 when he lost to Ray Patterson in Oslo .

In November 1966 Blin fought for the first time for the German championship, in Cologne he competed against the experienced southpaw Gerhard Zech . The significantly heavier Zech with 104 kilograms (Blin weighed 83 kilograms at the time) remained the title holder due to the draw in front of more than 5000 spectators, which was considered a misjudgment, because Blin was the better man. In the hall there were loud shouts of disapproval from spectators, bottles were thrown into the ring. In February 1967 there was another duel between Blin and Zech, which was held again in Cologne. Again the fight ended in a draw. Blin initially had advantages and knocked Zech to the ground in the first lap. But the defending champion got along better in the course of the competition, and he also managed to send his opponent onto the boards.

In May 1968, Blin, who was supervised by Fritz Wiene as manager, finally won the German championship title on the third attempt by winning over Zech on points. The duel, which this time took place in West Berlin's Deutschlandhalle , turned into a “merciless battle” like the previous fights between the two. Blin convinced the judges in particular with a strong performance in the last rounds and received great praise for his morale and fighting spirit. Blin announced after the victory that he will not give up the title that quickly. Just six months later, however, he lost the title to Peter Weiland in his first title defense . In 1969 he won victories over Norbert Grupe and again Zech. Blin saw room for improvement in himself after his victory over Ray Patterson (against whom he suffered his first professional defeat in 1965) in February 1970.

Blins first attempt at the European Championship ran with obstacles and was not crowned with success. The fight against European champion José Manuel Ibar, known as Urtain, which was scheduled on a Friday evening in June 1970, had to be postponed because the ring in the bullring in Barcelona had got wet during a downpour. Urtain won on points, the German was “only missing a single targeted blow to triumph in the end”, Blin had earned at least one draw and “put all doubters to shame” with his good performance, was the assessment of the reporter Horst Schüler. In the tenth round, first Urtain, then Blin, went to the ground, but both straightened up again. Blins manager Wiene spoke of the verdict as a “Spanish fraud”, his trainer Franz Mück certified that he had delivered a “sensational fight”. According to the media, Blin is said to have received around 150,000 D-Mark fees for the fight that was held in front of 20,000 spectators. In 1971 Blin again boxed for the European title, again he had to compete abroad, in London . His opponent was the Briton Joe Bugner , Blins fee was 90,000 Deutschmarks. Bugner and Blin went over 15 rounds in front of 5000 spectators, Bugner won on points, but the German was celebrated by the British spectators after the fight, although he was not the victim of a wrongful judgment. Blin suffered an injury to his left hand in the course of the doggedly fought duel, the German was unable to work out a large point advantage that would have destroyed the home advantage.

His most tester fight took place on December 26, 1971. He arrived in Switzerland on Muhammad Ali , nine months before his first defeat against Joe Frazier had suffered. Blin lost the fight in the Hallenstadion Zurich in front of 8,000 spectators, for which he was rewarded with a fee of 180,000 DM, by knockout in the seventh round. Blin, who attacked courageously, was certified a courageous fight and a strong performance against Ali, with which he had underpinned his claim to a European championship title. Blin, who suffered the first knockout defeat of his career as a professional boxer against the American, has a lot of courage, is quick and has hit him hard twice, Ali assessed the German's performance.

Blin boxed again after losing to Ali in May 1972, with Karl Hesse as his coach in the corner of the ring for the first time. Blin won the fight in Hamburg's Ernst-Merck-Halle against Charly Chase by breaking off in the fifth round after the Canadian was hit by a right Blins. "Blins rights are more explosive than ever," reported the Hamburger Abendblatt .

In June 1972 he achieved his greatest sporting success when he was able to win the European title against Urtain. The match was played in front of 10,000 spectators in the Madrid Sports Palace. Blin, who was subsequently referred to as “Germany's best and, above all, toughest professional boxer”, won on points. He secured the victory thanks in particular to a strong final phase in which “this thick head from Schleswig-Holstein outgrew himself” like the one from Hamburg Abendblatt wrote. During the fight, especially in the tenth round, opportunities to decide the duel early, Blin was unable to use. In the fourth round, the German went down and was counted.

After a knockout defeat against Bugner, Blin had to surrender the European title in his first title defense. Following the defeat by Bugner, Blin announced his retirement from boxing in October 1972. It had become clear to him that he had achieved everything he could with his boxing means, Blin justified his decision. It is the right time to stop because he is still healthy and he has no material worries, said Blin in October 1972.

But Blin returned to the ring. In February 1973 he defeated Danny Machado in Kiel. According to the Hamburger Abendblatt, Blin's return failed despite the victory. The fight was accompanied by the audience with shouts of “stop!”. In October 1973 he lost to the American Ron Lyle , who is known to be a strong punch , in Denver by breaking off in the second round. Blin received 45,000 Deutschmarks for the fight. According to the reporter Hermann Rüping, it was a "tragedy" and questioned Blin for the money "his impeccable reputation as an athlete". Jürgen Blin then finally ended his career.

successes

  • 5-time Hamburg champion
  • German amateur champion (1964)
  • European Champion (1972)

Life alongside a boxing career

After his time as a professional athlete, Blin opened several takeaways and owned real estate. After his divorce, he took out a guarantee that caused him to lose almost all of his fortune. From 1974 to 1978 he ran a pub at the Berliner Tor ; from 1978 to 2012 ( Jürgen Blin's beer & snack bar ) in the southern catacombs of Hamburg's main train station . In the restaurant he exhibited mementos from his boxing career, and photos of some of his fights hung on the walls. Among other things, Blin worked as a trainer in Erol Ceylan 's boxing stable , and in cooperation with a parish he passed on his boxing skills to young people in free practice lessons.

Others

Jürgen Blin has three sons with his ex-wife. The youngest, Knut Blin († 2004), was also a professional boxer. His two sons Jörg and Frank worked in the hospitality industry, Frank built several inns in northern Germany, among other things.

ARD presenter Waldemar Hartmann explained Jürgen Blin in Anmoderation of Walujew -WM-fight on 20 January 2007 in Basel live on 7.43 million TV viewers mistaken for dead.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b https://www.abendblatt.de/archive/1972/pdf/19720610.pdf/ASV_HAB_19720610_HA_011.pdf
  2. ↑ The Fehmaran who fought against Muhammad Ali. In: fehmarn24.de. April 24, 2008, accessed May 14, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Stern No. 6/07, February 1, 2007, p. 186
  4. ↑ Tim Tonder: The fight of his life in: Sport Inside, WDR television, January 23, 2012
  5. ↑ https://www.abendblatt.de/archive/1965/pdf/19650623.pdf/ASV_HAB_19650623_HA_021.pdf
  6. ↑ https://www.abendblatt.de/archive/1966/pdf/19661119.pdf/ASV_HAB_19661119_HA_021.pdf
  7. ↑ https://www.abendblatt.de/archive/1967/pdf/19670225.pdf/ASV_HAB_19670225_HA_021.pdf
  8. ↑ https://www.abendblatt.de/archive/1971/pdf/19710512.pdf/ASV_HAB_19710512_HA_038.pdf
  9. ^ Hamburger Abendblatt- Hamburg: Blin is there. May 13, 1968, accessed on May 16, 2020 (German).
  10. ↑ https://www.abendblatt.de/archive/1970/pdf/19700214.pdf/ASV_HAB_19700214_HA_025.pdf
  11. ↑ https://www.abendblatt.de/archive/1970/pdf/19700622.pdf/ASV_HAB_19700622_HA_014.pdf
  12. ↑ https://www.abendblatt.de/archive/1970/pdf/19700623.pdf/ASV_HAB_19700623_HA_009.pdf
  13. ↑ https://www.abendblatt.de/archive/1970/pdf/19700620.pdf/ASV_HAB_19700620_HA_036.pdf
  14. ↑ https://www.abendblatt.de/archive/1971/pdf/19710510.pdf/ASV_HAB_19710510_HA_015.pdf
  15. ↑ https://www.abendblatt.de/archive/1971/pdf/19710512.pdf/ASV_HAB_19710512_HA_038.pdf
  16. ↑ https://www.abendblatt.de/archive/1971/pdf/19711227.pdf/ASV_HAB_19711227_HA_013.pdf
  17. ↑ https://www.abendblatt.de/archive/1972/pdf/19720506.pdf/ASV_HAB_19720506_HA_011.pdf
  18. ↑ https://www.abendblatt.de/archive/1972/pdf/19721013.pdf/ASV_HAB_19721013_HA_026.pdf
  19. ↑ https://www.abendblatt.de/archive/1973/pdf/19730205.pdf/ASV_HAB_19730205_HA_014.pdf
  20. ↑ https://www.abendblatt.de/archive/1973/pdf/19731005.pdf/ASV_HAB_19731005_HA_021.pdf
  21. ↑ Ex-Boxer Blin - The Worst Opponent Is Boredom , Spiegel-online from December 26, 2011, accessed on June 4, 2016
  22. ↑ Jürgen Blin has to close the pub at the main train station ; Hamburger Morgenpost from December 28, 2011
  23. ^ Boxing match between Muhammed Ali and Jürgen Blin in 1971. In: youtube.com. Retrieved May 15, 2020 .
  24. ↑ Mocked by Muhammad Ali, struck by fate. Retrieved May 11, 2020 .
  25. ↑ Georg Ismar: Portrait: Everyone fights his own fight . In: THE WORLD . July 19, 2007 ( welt.de [accessed May 14, 2020]).
  26. ↑ The Blin brothers are at their "zenith". In: Hamburger Abendblatt. September 4, 2002, accessed May 12, 2020 .
  27. ↑ Thomas Hirschbiegel, Florian Quandt: Frank Blins Collection: The dream cars of the Hofbräu king. March 26, 2018, accessed on May 11, 2020 (German).
personal data
SURNAME Blin, Jürgen
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German boxer
DATE OF BIRTH April 24, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH Castle on Fehmarn