“The punches of Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran were laughable compared to those of Marijan Beneš.” If these words were spoken by an ordinary boxing fan, they might be considered crazy. But they were said by someone who tasted those punches firsthand — our own Luigi Minchillo — and his judgment helps us understand the destructive power of the late Balkan puncher. Born to a Croatian father, in Serbia, and raised in Bosnia, Beneš refused throughout his life to identify with any of the warring ethnicities, preferring to call himself simply “Yugoslavian.” This choice alienated him from all sides as hostilities grew, leaving him, after the breakup of the state, a champion without a homeland. Six years after his death, we dive into his story of pride and suffering.
The Rise Among Amateurs and the (Won) Battle against Hepatitis
Blessed with a pronounced musculature from a young age, Marijan Beneš was never an example of refined technique or boxing elegance. Ungraceful, unorthodox, and constantly seeking the decisive blow, he was not the prototype of a boxer who typically succeeds among amateurs. Yet, even in amateur boxing, his opponents fell like pins: Beneš defeated 277 of them in 300 fights, bringing glory to the “Slavija” gym in the Bosnian city of Banja Luka, where he had moved at the age of 16. His greatest triumph was winning gold at the European Championships in Belgrade in 1973, a thrilling tournament that ended in spectacular fashion: the Soviet finalist Anatoliy Kamnyev, shaken multiple times, was stopped when his face had become a mask of blood. However, the joy of reaching that milestone was short-lived, as a heavy burden was about to fall on the champion’s health. He was found positive for hepatitis and barred from training. Stubborn as a mule, Beneš ignored those who advised him to retire from the sport and not only managed to overcome the disease in record time but also qualified for the Montreal Olympics!
The European Title as a Professional and Popular Acclaim
The unfortunate outcome of the Olympic tournament, which Beneš entered in less-than-optimal physical condition, did not extinguish the Balkan boxer’s ambitions. He immediately contacted his sister, who lived in Germany, and asked her to find him a manager capable of leading him to the top of the world among professionals. The young woman contacted the powerful Willy Zeller, who, despite being aware of the boy’s previous health issues, agreed to take him on. This marked the beginning of Beneš’s adventure in professional boxing, fighting in Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands but with a strong desire to return to his homeland to fight for a prestigious title. Zeller managed to grant him this dream after just 15 fights when the European super welterweight champion, Frenchman Gilbert Cohen, traveled to Banja Luka to give Beneš his first big chance. It was an unforgettable triumph: the violent hooks of the local idol floored the reigning champion early in the fourth round, forcing him to a devastating KO. The crowd, mad with joy, chanted “Yugoslavia! Yugoslavia!” as the winner was carried in triumph, a moment that contrasts sharply with what would happen a few years later.
The Ailing Eye and the World Title Shot
Beneš’s poor defense and constant pursuit of close-range combat exposed him to tremendous risks every time he entered the ring. Thus, even a tune-up fight like the one against Puerto Rican Sandy Torres in 1979 could prove very dangerous. The reigning European champion was forced to surrender after suffering a terrible uppercut to the eye. The impact caused a detached retina and a dangerous hemorrhage that required immediate surgery. Once again, calls for caution were ignored, and just over two months later, Beneš was back in the ring! Such stubbornness was rewarded with the chance of a lifetime — a world title fight that the Yugoslav puncher had dreamed of since his first days in the gym. The opportunity was granted by WBA champion Ayub Kalule, whose manager secured the most favorable conditions in negotiations. In addition to traveling into the lion’s den, Beneš accepted gloves with more padding than usual. In the sweltering heat, which made even the spectators sweat profusely, the challenger held his own and even seemed capable of taking the lead. However, in the second half of the fight, he ran out of energy and continued only out of pride, ultimately falling short on the judges’ scorecards.
The Paris Robbery and the Fierce Clash against Luigi Minchillo
With each fight, the condition of Beneš’s operated eye deteriorated significantly. He was forced to live with excruciating pain and fought with increasingly impaired vision. Nonetheless, it was only a hometown decision that took his EBU belt away in the same Paris where years earlier, the famous actor Alain Delon had offered to become his manager, only to be politely refused. The French challenger, Louis Acaries, merely focused on damage control for eight rounds, showing grit only at the end, but that was enough to convince the judges. The attempt to reclaim the European crown in San Severo, against our own Luigi Minchillo, had the opposite outcome. The Italian dominated the first half of the fight before enduring the feared but insufficient comeback of his rival, who was narrowly and justly defeated. Shortly afterward, Beneš’s eye reached the point of no return — the damage had become so severe that removal was necessary, ending his career. This disability added to the numerous hand fractures sustained over the years and a vocal cord injury from a throat punch, which left his voice hoarse and faint for the rest of his life.
The Tragic End of a Misunderstood Champion
The numerous injuries he sustained were nothing compared to the pain inflicted by his people at the outbreak of war in the early 1990s. That ethnic hatred, which Beneš could not comprehend, upended his life, took his brother, and after assaults and threats, forced him to leave his city, first moving to Belgrade and then to Zagreb. However, wherever he went, he was treated as a foreigner. His faith in a Yugoslavia, now reduced to ruins, condemned him to eternal suspicion and the resentment of people blinded and enraged by the harshness of the conflict. Returning to his Banja Luka, the same city that had once hailed him as a hero, he lived out the rest of his days in anonymity and oblivion, to the point where even his desire to coach at the gym he had made famous was denied. Suffering from Alzheimer’s for several years, Beneš passed away on September 4, 2018, in Banja Luka, not before publishing a collection of poems about boxing titled “The Other Side of the Medal,” a documented testament to a rare sensitivity, battered by the horrors of his era, yet intact until his last breath.