The Boxing History Blog

Jose Napoles Jose Napoles dared to be great in his seventh-round defeat to undisputed middleweight champion Carlos Monzon. Wisely, the Cuban returned to the welterweight division and defended his world titles in a rematch with Hedgemon Lewis on 3rd August 1974 at the Palacio de los Deportes, Mexico City. After their first meeting in December 1971, Lewis defeated Mexico’s Ruben Vazquez Zamora with a ten-round points decision in May 1972, before a month later facing Billy Backus for the vacant New York State Athletic Commission world welterweight championship. The NYSAC title was stripped from Napoles in November 1971 when he failed to meet Backus in a rematch ordered by the Canastota Boxing Club.   Lewis knocked Backus down in the second round en route to a fifteen-round unanimous decision to become a rival world champion to Napoles. Lewis had two more victories before facing Backus again in the maiden defence of his NYSAC title in December, again defeating the challenger via a unan...

Jose Napoles  After making six successful defences of his undisputed welterweight crown, Jose Napoles stepped up to middleweight to take on the reigning WBA and WBC champion Carlos Monzon at the Puteaux, Hauts-de-Seine, France on 9th February 1974. The champion was making the ninth defence of the championship he won off Nino Benvenuti in November 1970, in what was Ring Magazine’s fight of the year.   . Monzon was born on 7th August 1942 in Santa Fe, founded in 1573 and located in the northeast corner of Argentina. The handsome South American was one of twelve children and grew up in the slums of San Javier, a city in the province where he was born. At six years old he started to deliver milk, shine shoes, and sell newspapers to make money and by his early teens began boxing at a local gym. His trainer, Amilcar Brusa, described Monzon as “a skinny kid with rage in his eyes.” In the ring, Monzon was cold, grim, expressionless and his personality understated, outside of it, he...