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{{Infobox boxer
|name=Oscar Bonavena
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|height={{convert|5|ft|10+1/2|in|m|2|abbr=on}}
|reach={{convert|73|in|cm|0|abbr=on}}
|nationality=
|birth_date={{birth date|1942|09|25|mf=y}}
|birth_place=[[Buenos Aires]], Argentina
|death_date={{death date and age|1976|05|22|1942|9|25|mf=y}}
|death_place=[[
|style=[[Orthodox stance|Orthodox]]
|total=68
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|no contests=0
}}
'''Oscar Natalio''' "'''Ringo'''" '''Bonavena''' (September 25, 1942 – May 22, 1976) was an Argentine [[heavyweight]] [[professional boxing|professional boxer]] with a career record of 58 wins, 9 losses and 1 draw. A rugged, wild-swinging puncher, he was nicknamed "Ringo" because of his [[The Beatles|Beatles]] haircut, and enjoyed professional success in both Argentina and the United States. He is remembered for giving [[Joe Frazier]] and [[Muhammad Ali]] hard fought bouts.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}
==Life and pro career==
Oscar Natalio Bonavena was born in [[Buenos Aires]] to
== Early career==
Bonavena began his early career in [[New York City]] under the management of World War II hero and dentist Marvin Goldberg
===Big name contests, Chuvalo and Frazier===
Bonavena first came to wide public attention after a fine performance: defeating rated contender and Canadian champion [[George Chuvalo]], boxing technically better than expected, and later going the distance against the young hard-hitting great [[Joe Frazier]]. In this, their first fight, Bonavena had the future champion down twice in the second
===WBA elimination contests===
In 1967, after the [[World Boxing Association]] stripped [[Muhammad Ali]] of the title for refusing to be [[Conscription|inducted]] into the U.S. military, Bonavena participated in that sanctioning body's 1967 tournament to crown a new heavyweight champion. In a strong performance he decked favoured European champion [[Karl Mildenberger]] four times,<ref>Ring Mag & online boxing records</ref> winning by a decision in [[Frankfurt]], [[West Germany]]. But he was himself knocked down twice and clearly outboxed by eventual tournament winner [[Jimmy Ellis (boxer)|Jimmy Ellis]] in the semi-finals in [[Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville]], losing by unanimous decision in an upset. Many deemed it the best win of Ellis's career.<ref>Ring magazine</ref>
===World Title shot, the Frazier rematch===
[[File:Susana Giménez y Ringo Bonavera.jpg|thumb|
The following year, in 1968, after outpointing [[Leotis Martin]], he got a rematch with Frazier for the heavyweight title in [[Philadelphia]]. After a grueling fifteen rounds Bonavena lost the rematch by decision, fighting more defensively than previous. He
===Versus Ali===
In December 1970, he fought Ali at Madison Square Garden, in the former champ's second bout after his three-year layoff. Bonavena absorbed punishment throughout but fought well, getting through with various head and body punches. With just under 1:30 left in the 15th and final round, Ali caught Oscar rushing in and decked him with a perfectly placed left hook. Bonavena got up, but was clearly not fully recovered. Ali decked him twice more, and the fight was automatically stopped under the three knockdown rule, giving Ali a TKO (technical knockout). The ending was somewhat controversial, as Ali stood over Bonavena as Bonavena was getting up, never going to a neutral corner as the rules of boxing require, which allowed Ali to quickly knockdown Bonavena twice more and automatically end the fight. After the second knockdown, the referee appears to be attempting to guide Ali to a neutral corner, but Ali brushes the referee's arm away and pursues a wobbly Bonavena.<ref>https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YhofAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wqYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2537,871414 {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ySyW0rfYPisC&
===Other matches===
After the loss to Ali in 1970, he had a brutally tough match with underrated [[Alvin Lewis (boxer)|Alvin Lewis]], being decked multiple times but eventually winning by disqualification. Bonavena fought intermittently for the next few years. A gregarious party man, he enjoyed life
Eventually losses to [[Floyd Patterson]] in 1972 and [[Ron Lyle]] in 1974 effectively
On February 26, 1976, an overweight and sluggish Bonavena fought what would be his last fight, winning a ten-round decision over the unranked [[Billy Joiner]] in Reno.<ref name="Farrell">{{cite
==Death==
On 22 May 1976 Bonavena was shot dead at the age of 33 by a security guard at the [[Mustang Ranch]] brothel near [[Reno, Nevada]], after having become involved in a conflict with its owner.<ref name="Farrell"/><ref name= "NYT">{{cite news
| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/05/23/archives/bonavena-is-slain-a-top-heavyweight.html
| title=Bonavena Is Slain; A Top Heavyweight
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| work=[[The New York Times]]
| quote=Oscar Bonavena of Argentina, once a serious contender for the heavyweight boxing championship, was shot to death yesterday at a brothel a few miles east of Reno, Nev. He was 33 years old.
|
==Professional boxing record==
{{BoxingRecordSummary|draws=1|ko-wins=44|ko-losses=1|dec-wins=14|dec-losses=8}}{{S-start}}
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="8"|'''58 Wins''' (44 Knockouts), '''9 Defeats''', '''1 Draw'''<ref name="boxer">[http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=9386&cat=boxer Oscar Bonavena's Professional Boxing Record]. BoxRec.com. Retrieved on 2012-03-18.</ref>
|- style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;"
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|{{small|12}}
|{{small|1974-05-21}}
|align=left|{{small|{{Flag icon|USA}} [[Capital Centre (Landover, Maryland)|Capital Centre]], [[Largo, Maryland]]}}
|align=left|
|- align=center
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|{{small|TKO}}
|{{small|15 (15)}}
|{{small|[[Muhammad Ali vs. Oscar Bonavena|1970-12-07]]}}
|align=left|{{small|{{Flag icon|USA}} [[Madison Square Garden]], New York City}}
|align=left|{{small|[[North American Boxing Federation|NABF]] Heavyweight title fight.}}
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|{{small|5 (10)}}
|{{small|1966-11-18}}
|align=left|{{small|{{Flag icon|ARG}} [[
|align=left|
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==See also==
* [[List of homicides in Nevada]]
*[[Luis Ángel Firpo]]
*[[José María Gatica]]
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[[Category:1976 deaths]]
[[Category:Heavyweight boxers]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Argentine expatriate sportspeople in the United States]]
[[Category:Argentine
[[Category:Murdered boxers]]▼
[[Category:Argentine people murdered abroad]]
[[Category:Argentine murder victims]]
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[[Category:Burials at La Chacarita Cemetery]]
[[Category:Argentine male boxers]]
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