Former EBU heavyweight champ Juergen Blin has passed away at the age of 79, reports BILD.

Blin held the title for only 124 days beating Jose Manuel Ibar Urtain in Spain and lost it to Joe Bugner in London and he was the first to admit that it wasn't talent that got him to the top in Europe. It was hard work and a strong will that made it happen.

Blin was a small heavyweight even back then and often had to give away both height and weight to his opponents. 

Blin is also famous for fight against Muhammad Ali on December 26 in Zurich, Switzerland, where he was knocked out in the seventh but as usual he gave his all. 

Another big fight for Blin was when he beat Wilhelm Von Homburg in a ten rounder in December of 1969 in front of 6,500 spectators in what was a German mega-fight. Von Homburg (a/k/a Norbert Grupe), who was German-American, later returned to the United States and became an actor and landed a big role in the first Die Hard motion picture.

Blin, who was a butcher by trade, retired after losing to Ron Lyle in 1973 with a record of 30-12-6. He invested his money smartly in real estate and owned three bars in the Hamburg subway system. He remained in boxing as a trainer and was an often seen and popular guest at ringside.