Josef "Joschi" Weidinger (25 April 1923 – 26 June 2002), better known as Jo Weidin, was an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

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 ...

who won the

European Boxing Union The European Boxing Union (EBU), formerly known as the International Boxing Union (IBU), is a pan-European governing body that sanctions championship bouts in professional boxing. The EBU governs the most-prestigious continental title in Europe, th ...

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

title in 1950.

Career

Born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Weidin made his professional debut in December 1945 with a third-round knockout of Stefan Schmidt.Barrabas, Ingo (2007)
Josef Weidinger
, Austrian Boxing Federation. Retrieved 28 September 2019 In 1947 he beat Jan Declercq, Enrico Bertola, Stephane Olek, and

Robert Eugene The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

to win a European heavyweight tournament (with no title at stake). In 1948 he travelled to the United States, where he was described as "Jack Dempsey's protege" and "the post-war Jewish hope for heavyweight honors" (despite not actually being Jewish), and recorded four wins and four losses, two of his defeats at the hands of

Freddie Beshore Freddy or Freddie may refer to: Entertainment *Freddy (comic strip), a newspaper comic strip which ran from 1955 to 1980 *Freddie (Cromartie), a character from the Japanese manga series''Cromartie High School'' *Freddie (dance), a short-lived 1960 ...

and Lee Oma. Back in Austria he won his next three fights, including a second-round stoppage of

Heinz Lazek Heinz Lazek (October 17, 1911 – July 26, 1986) was an Austrian and German professional boxer. He fought 64 times between 1932 and 1950; winning 48 (21 by knockout), losing 8 and drawing 8. During his career Lazek won the EBU title at light heav ...

in September 1949. He lost on points to Olek in Paris in January 1950, with no title at stake, but when the two met again in Vienna in June for the vacant EBU European heavyweight title, Wiedin was victorious, becoming the new European champion. Weidin lost the title in his first defence, losing on points to Jack Gardner in March 1951.Boxer Jack Remembered
, ''Harborough Mail'', 13 April 2006. Retrieved 28 September 2019 Weidin had nine further fights, beating future South African champion

Johnny Arthur Johnny Arthur (born John Lennox Arthur Williams; May 20, 1883 – December 31, 1951) was an American stage and motion picture actor. Early years Born in Scottdale, Pennsylvania, Arthur was a veteran of twenty-five years on stage before he made ...

in December 1951, but suffering defeats to Johnny Williams,

Karel Sys Karel Sys (14 February 1914 – 19 June 1990) was a Belgian boxer who having started his professional career at welterweight went on to become heavyweight champion of Europe on two occasions, winning the title in both 1943 and 1952. Career Sys m ...

Hein ten Hoff Hein ten Hoff (19 November 1919 – 13 June 2003) was a German boxer and ''Präsident des Bundes Deutscher Berufsboxer'' (BDB). He was the son of a Dutch peasant, who left The Netherlands for Germany (Oldenburg Land) in the end of the 1930s, ...

, and

Tommy Farr Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

. His final fight, against Hugo Salfeld in November 1952, also ended in defeat. Weidin retired with a record of 31 wins from 46 fights. He went on to act as president of the local professional boxing association and as a board member of

SK Rapid Wien Sportklub Rapid Wien (), commonly known as Rapid Vienna, is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid has won the most Austrian championship titles (32), including the first title in the season 1911–12, ...

.Box-Legende Joschi Weidinger gestorben
, ''Der Standard'', 26 June 2002. Retrieved 28 September 2019 Weidin died on 26 June 2002, at the age of 79, after a long illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weidin, Jo 1923 births 2002 deaths Austrian male boxers Heavyweight boxers Sportspeople from Vienna