“I let him go”
Boxing icon René Weller is dead
08/22/2023 11:42 p.m
René Weller writes headlines as a boxer as well as later with participation in reality shows and offenses for which he has to go to prison. Now there is sadness: His wife announces that the former boxing icon has died at the age of 69.
René Weller is dead: The former European lightweight boxing champion died at the age of 69 in his home town of Pforzheim. This was announced by his wife to the “Bild” newspaper. “I let him go and it was very difficult in the last few weeks, he screamed, he was in pain,” Maria Weller is quoted as saying. The former boxer has been suffering from dementia since 2014, and his wife Maria has cared for him in the couple’s house for the past few years.
As an amateur, Weller won the German featherweight and lightweight championships nine times and represented Germany at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. After switching to the professionals, he advanced to become the German boxing protagonist of the 1980s – also because he staged himself as a fistfighting macho. In 1984, Weller conquered the European Championship crown in the lightweight division, his only defeat came two years later against eventual world champion Gert Bo Jacobsen.
prison sentence for drug trafficking
In 1993 the boxer ended his career after 55 professional fights. Five years later, Weller was arrested in a bogus drug trade, one year later sentenced to seven years in prison for dealing in cocaine, receiving stolen goods, inciting forgery and illegal possession of weapons. After four and a half years behind bars, he was released for good behavior.
Weller later took part in various reality shows on private television with his wife. In recent months, his wife Maria had cared for her husband and prepared the public for his approaching death. “The situation is not good at all. It’s a nightmare,” Maria Weller recently described the situation to RTL / ntv. “The doctor asked me to let go.” Former companions have already phoned, perhaps saying goodbye. “Ulli Wegner and many others called,” said the 70-year-old. “I want him to hear his friends’ voices again. And I have the feeling that René would like it too.”