René Weller
{{distinguish|Ronny Weller}}
{{Short description|German boxer (1953–2023)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = René Weller
| full_name =
| image = Rene Weller.JPG
| caption = Weller in 2009
| nationality = German
| sport = Boxing
| birth_date = {{birth date|1953|11|21|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Pforzheim, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany
| death_date = {{death date and age|2023|8|22|1953|11|21|df=yes}}
| death_place =
| medaltemplates = {{MedalSport | Men's amateur boxing}}
{{MedalCountry | {{FRG}} }}
{{MedalCompetition|World Championships}}
{{MedalBronze| 1978 Belgrade | Lightweight}}
{{MedalCompetition|World Cup}}
{{MedalBronze| 1979 New York | Lightweight}}
{{MedalCompetition|European Championships}}
{{MedalBronze| 1977 Halle | Lightweight}}
{{MedalSilver| 1979 Cologne | Lightweight}}
| show-medals = yes
}}
René Weller (21 November 1953 – 22 August 2023) was a German boxer. He competed for West Germany in the men's featherweight event at the 1976 Summer Olympics, defeating Serge Thomas of France before losing to Gheorghe Ciochina of Romania.{{cite Sports-Reference|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/we/rene-weller-1.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418122700/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/we/rene-weller-1.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 April 2020|title=René Weller Olympic Results|accessdate=21 December 2018}} In 1979 he was runner-up at the European Amateur Championship, losing the final against Viktor Demyanenko from the USSR.{{Cite web |title=Olympedia – René Weller |url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/3669 |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=www.olympedia.org}}
Weller became professional in 1981 and won the German pro title in the lightweight class. He also won the European lightweight title in 1983 and 1988.
Outside of his sport career, he also appeared in some German boxing films such as Macho Man and Ebbies Bluff. He also produced a line of belts and jewelry and modeled for nude photographs in multiple magazines. He also appeared in multiple television shows and had a successful career as a singer. In 1999 was sentenced to seven years in prison for cocaine dealing, dealing stolen goods, and forgery, but was released early in 2003.
Weller went on to found a boxing gym in his hometown of Pforzheim. He developed dementia in 2014 and died on 22 August 2023 at the age of 69.{{cite news |title=Boxen: Früherer Box-Europameister René Weller ist tot |trans-title=Boxing: Former European boxing champion René Weller is dead |url=https://www.zeit.de/sport/2023-08/boxen-rene-weller-ist-tot |access-date=23 August 2023 |work=Zeit |date=23 August 2023 |language=German}}
References
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Weller, Rene}}
Category:Olympic boxers for West Germany
Category:Boxers at the 1976 Summer Olympics
Category:Sportspeople from Pforzheim
Category:Martial artists from Baden-Württemberg
Category:AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists
Category:20th-century German sportsmen
Category:Deaths from dementia in Germany
Category:Sportspeople convicted of crimes
{{Germany-boxing-bio-stub}}