Vermögen Rene Weller – The professional boxer and sometimes laborer got his start early in life and studied to become a heating engineer and jeweller. Weller’s dad, Harald, was a boxer for a long time before he passed away when he was just 14 years old. As a member of the Pforzheim Judo Club, he excelled in the sport by the time he was six years old. Weller began training at the Blau-Weiß Pforzheim boxing gym in 1966.
Heinz Weishaar, his coach, was an especially positive influence on him. According to Weller, he owes his “entire career” to Weishaar because he was the one who discovered him. On January 20, 1968, he triumphed in his first national battle, which took place in a Baden Boxing Association sighting competition. At the Baden Championships for young boxers in 1969, Weller placed first. In his youth, Weller was also an avid football player.
In 1972, he defeated Hans Pillarz in a decisive fight to earn his first title as German bantamweight champion. He won four consecutive German featherweight titles between 1973 and 1976, and then four lightweight titles between 1977 and 1980.
He lost against the eventual silver medallist, Zoran Jovanovi, on points in the quarterfinals of the 20th European Championships, held in Belgrade in June 1973. He competed for West Germany in the 21st Summer Olympics, held in Montreal in 1976. In the tournament, he defeated Frenchman Serge Thomas in the featherweight division but was knocked out by Romanian Gheorghe Ciochină. He was eliminated in the semi-finals by eventual champion Ace Rusevski at the 22nd European Championships in Halle in 1977.
A lightweight at the time, he competed at the 1979 European Championships in Cologne at the 23rd annual event. He advanced to the championship round with wins over Ove Lundby of Sweden, Ladislav Konen of the Czech Republic, and Ilie Dragomir of Romania. However, the Soviet Union’s Viktor Demjanenko overcame him there on the scoreboard.
Vermögen Rene Weller : 5 Millionen € (geschätzt)
He was eliminated in the semifinals of the first World Cup, held in New York in October 1979, by fellow American David Armstrong.In the international “100 Years of British Boxing Tournament” held in October 1980, he competed in the lightweight division, where he ultimately prevailed over Gary Felvus to claim gold.
In 1981, he competed in the 24th European Championships in Tampere but was beaten by two-time winner Viktor Rybakow on points in their second bout. Weller was a member of the TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen team that played in the Bundesliga. Weller, who was working for Bayer at the time, was offered a transfer to the professional division by Wilfried Sauerland in April 1981.
On June 12, 1981, in Cologne, Weller faced off against former Italian champion Potito Di Muro in his professional boxing debut, which he won on points. His first fight was promoted by Sauerland. On August 16, 1981, in his second fight, he knocked out Ken Foreman, a British boxer with an unblemished record of 11 wins and 0 losses. He defeated Dieter Schantz in his third bout on September 25, 1981, and earned the German lightweight title with a fourth-round knockout.
Weller informed a news magazine in April 1985 that he had bet his full $25,000 fee on his own victory before his fight against Charles LaCour in Las Vegas at the end of June 1982.
After 15 more victories, including ones over Bruno De Montis Rodolfo Sánchez and Charlie Nash he finally earned his chance to fight for the European title of the EBU lightweight on June 29, 1983 in Sicily. Lucio Cusma the current European champion, and the challenger both concluded their bout with a draw.
Two publications had contrasting takes on the outcome; the Hamburger Abendblatt called the draw “quite moderate” in its June 30, 1983 issue, whereas the news magazine Spiegel dubbed it “a major upset.” Weller was reported to have been the better man in retrospect, and the outcome was a “scandal,” although the German was shielded by two bodyguards due to death threats from the mafia before to the fight.
Following this victory, on September 10, 1983, he faced and defeated French champion and eventual European champion Tusikoleta Nkalankete. Then, on October 7th, he fought James Ortega an American, for the world title of the super featherweight association WAA — a relatively minor organization, especially when compared to others around the world.
Weller became European champion after two more knockout victories and a rematch against Lucio Cusma on March 9, 1984 in the Festhalle in Frankfurt am Main in front of 7,500 people. He went on to successfully defend his belt against Jose Antonio Garca Daniel Londas George Feeney and Frederic Geoffroy .
Fights promoted by Weller attracted celebrities like the singer Nena and fans from all walks of life. “From sneakers to bow ties in a tuxedo in short, across the world,” reported Die Welt in April 1985of “the range of Weller followers.” At the time, Die Welt claimed that Weller was the only German professional boxer capable of drawing “halls halfway filled.”
On January 10, 1986, in his fifth title defense, he was defeated by future WBO champion Gert Bo Jacobsen . The bout, which drew 4,000 fans to Randers, Denmark, was called off in the eighth round. In the fifth round, Weller suffered a cut to his eyebrow. Increased bleeding in the eighth round prompted the referee to call an end to the bout.
Sauerland, Weller’s promoter, accused the Dane of cheating since he thought the injury was caused by a headbutt. Throughout his entire career, this was the only setback he experienced. He regained the German lightweight title on May 12, 1986, with a points victory over Konrad Mittermeier, and he successfully defended it with knockout victories over Georg Vlachos and Mittermeier again.
