George Benton (May 15, 1933 – September 19, 2011) was an American boxer and boxing trainer from

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Boxing career

Fighting

His first amateur bout was when he was thirteen. He turned professional three years later. He boxed professionally from 1949 to 1970 and defeated future world champions

Freddie Little Freddie Little (born April 25, 1936) is a retired American professional boxer who held the undisputed junior middleweight championship. He used to work at Anthony Saville Middle School in Las Vegas, Nevada as a P.E. teacher but suffered a medical ...

Jimmy Ellis Jimmy Ellis may refer to: * Jimmy Ellis (boxer) (1940–2014), American boxer * Jimmy "Orion" Ellis (1945–1998), American singer * Jimmy "Preacher" Ellis (born 1935), American musician * Jimmy Ellis (1938–2012), lead singer of The Trammps * Ji ...

, and

Joey Giardello Carmine Orlando Tilelli (July 16, 1930 – September 4, 2008) was an American boxer who was the world middleweight champion from 1963 to 1965,. He adopted the name Joey Giardello (the name of a cousin's friend) in order to join the U.S. Army whil ...

. In seventy-six professional fights, he was never knocked down and was stopped just twice, on a cut against

Luis Manuel Rodriguez Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...

and when he didn't come out for the final round of his fight with

Bennie Briscoe "Bad" Bennie Briscoe (February 8, 1943 – December 28, 2010) was an American professional boxer. A fan favorite for his punching power, he was known as the "quintessential Philadelphia boxer," and one of the greatest fighters of his era who due ...

. Benton had a professional record of 62–13–1 (37 KOs). Benton became the #1 ranked middleweight in the world in the early 1960s, but he never got a shot at the world title. In 1962, after he beat Giardello, Benton thought that he would get a title shot. However, Giardello's manager,

Lou Duva Louis Duva (May 28, 1922 – March 8, 2017) was a boxing trainer, manager and boxing promoter who handled nineteen world champions. The Duva family promoted boxing events in over twenty countries on six continents. Lou Duva was inducted into the ...

, was well connected and was able to get Giardello a fight with

Dick Tiger Dick Tiger (born Richard Ihetu; August 14, 1929 – December 14, 1971) was a Nigerian-born professional boxer who held the undisputed middleweight and light-heavyweight championships. Tiger emigrated to Liverpool, England to pursue his b ...

for the World Middleweight Championship, which Giardello won by decision. "Yeah, I screwed George out of his shot," Duva said. "He didn't even know about it till I told him many years later." Benton's boxing career ended in 1970 after he was shot. The shooter had tried to pick up Benton's sister in a bar, and Benton's brother beat him up. Vowing to kill someone from the Benton family, the man shot George in the back. He was in and out of the hospital for two years. The bullet remained lodged near Benton's spine for the remainder of his life.

Training

With his boxing career over, he turned to training. He studied under

Eddie Futch Eddie Futch (August 9, 1911 – October 10, 2001) was an American boxing trainer. Among the fighters he trained are Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Larry Holmes, and Trevor Berbick, four of the five men to defeat Muhammad Ali. Futch also trained Riddic ...

and was in

Joe Frazier Joseph William Frazier (January 12, 1944November 7, 2011), nicknamed "Smokin' Joe", was an American professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1981. He was known for his strength, durability, formidable left hand, and relentless pressure fi ...

's corner for his third fight with

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, a ...

, the

Thrilla in Manila Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier lll, billed as the "Thrilla in Manila", was the third and final boxing match between WBA, WBC, and '' The Ring'' heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, and Joe Frazier, for the heavyweight championship of the world. T ...

. He was also in the corner of

Leon Spinks Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

when he upset Ali to win the World Heavyweight Championship. For seventeen years, Benton worked with Lou Duva and the Duva family's promotion company, Main Events, as the head trainer for many of their fighters. Among the fighters he trained were

Evander Holyfield Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed champion at cruiserweight in the late 1980s and at heavyweight in the early 1990s, and is the on ...

Oliver McCall Oliver McCall (born April 21, 1965) is an American former professional boxer. A veteran of the sport for over three decades, he is best known for winning the WBC heavyweight title in 1994 by scoring an upset knockout victory over Lennox Lewis. T ...

Mike McCallum Mike McCallum (born 7 December 1956) is a Jamaican former professional boxer who competed from 1981 to 1997. He held triple champion, world championships in three weight classes, including the World Boxing Association, WBA super welterweight t ...

Meldrick Taylor Meldrick Taylor (born October 19, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2002. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the IBF junior welterweight title from 1988 to 1990, and the WBA welterweight title ...

, and

Pernell Whitaker Pernell Whitaker Sr. (January 2, 1964 – July 14, 2019) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2001, and subsequently worked as a boxing trainer. He was a four-weight world champion, having won titles at lightweight, ligh ...

. Also he coached

Marvis Frazier Marvis Frazier (born September 12, 1960) is an American former professional boxer who fought in the heavyweight division. Early life Marvis is the son of former heavyweight champion and Hall of Famer, Joe Frazier. Marvis was at ringside for all o ...

during his amateur career.

Personal life

Benton died on September 19, 2011 after a battle with

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

. A veteran of the United States Army, he was buried at the Washington Crossing National Cemetery in

Upper Makefield Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania Upper Makefield Township is a township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 8,190 at the 2010 census. It has the eighth highest per capita income among Pennsylvania townships. Its multimillion-dollar homes, top-notch ...

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Legacy

In 1989 and 1990, Benton was named "Trainer of the Year" by the

Boxing Writers Association of America The Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) was originally formed in 1926 as the Boxing Writers Association of Greater New York. The association's purpose is to promote better working conditions for boxing writers, as well as hold its writers ...

. In 2001, he was elected to the

International Boxing Hall Of Fame The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The I ...

Professional boxing record

References

External links

Sports Illustrated "The Master"
Boxing Writers Association of America Trainer of the Year Award

George Benton's Professional Record
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benton, George 1933 births 2011 deaths Boxers from Pennsylvania Middleweight boxers American boxing trainers American male boxers