Jose Napoles Part Five: Vs Carlos Monzon

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.

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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 was the archetypal machismo hero, who led a violent and chaotic life. 

 

He turned professional on 6th February 1963 at Club Sportivo Ben Hur, Rafaela, Argentina, where he knocked out countryman Ramon Montenegro in the second round. 

 

In October 1964, Monzon, aged twenty-two, suffered his third points defeat, dropping his record to 16-3 (14 KOs). However, all of his losses were avenged; his August 1963 defeat to Antonio Aguila was reversed with a ninth-round kayo in July 1967 and then again in February 1970 to defend Argentine middleweight title with a fifth-round knockout; the eight-round loss to Spanish-born Brazilian Felipe Cambeiro - where he floored Monzon three times - was overturned with an eight-round points win in front of the Brazilian’s home city fans of Sao Paulo in August 1965; and the third setback - a ten-round unanimous decision against Alberto Massi - was avenged with an eight-round TKO in December 1966 and a ten-round unanimous decision in February 1967.   

 

Monzon remained unbeaten, improving his record to 26-3-5 (17 KOs) when he won a ten-round unanimous decision against countryman Ramon Rocha in February 1966 to capture the Santa Fe Province middleweight title. Three wins and a draw later he picked up the Argentinian middleweight championship in September 1966 with a twelve-round unanimous decision over Jorge Fernandez. 

 

After ten more victories, Monzon met America’s Bennie Briscoe at Estadio Luna Park, Buenos Aires on 6th May 1967. In an even contest with few exchanges, many believed the American had done enough to earn a ten-round points victory. However, the judges could not separate the fighters, with Briscoe feeling slightly aggrieved in his post-fight comments: “Getting a draw in Argentina is getting a victory in the United States.” 

 

A month later, Monzon faced old foe Jorge Fernandez to challenge for his newly acquired South American middleweight title. With a twelve-round unanimous decision, Monzon added Fernandez’s crown to his Argentinian championship. 

 

Monzon remained undefeated in his next twenty-eight fights to compile a record of 67-3-9 (44 KOs) when he challenged Italy’s Nino Benvenuti in Rome for the WBA and WBC middleweight titles on 7th November 1970.

 

12,000 Italian fans packed the Palazzo Dello Sport to support the two-to-one favourite to defend the middleweight crown he regained from Emile Griffith in March 1968 for the fifth time. Monzon, the number-one contender, began the contest by outboxing and outpunching the thirty-two-year-old champion. His long left lead pumped into Benvenuti’s face repeatedly, whilst the Italian’s jab could never find the target.

 

By the third, Benvenuti was showing signs of strain as he was becoming flustered by the challenger’s style and roughness in the clinches. He complained to German referee Rudolf Drust loudly when the Argentinian hit him in the neck during a clinch. Though the respite stimulated the Italian crowd, the champion could not stop Monzon’s jabs from confusing him and keeping him at bay.

 

The crowd’s chants of “Ni-no, Ni-no” seemed to help the champion gain some strength in the fifth, though he was still suffering from the South American’s roughhouse tactics, he managed to land some punches of his own. The crowd continued to boo Monzon’s butting and roughing and protested by throwing paper cups into the ring.

 

The Italian fans’ hopes were dented in the seventh when Monzon repeatedly unleashed hard right hands and hammered him into the ropes. The champion was all but out with only the bell saving him. Benvenuti, however, despite facing defeat, rallied and held his own for a while, until he ran out of gas.

By round eleven the Italian’s punches were just pushes and he held on until the end of the round. He came out for the twelfth and caught Monzon flush on the jaw with a left hook. Unfortunately for Benvenuti, the punch did not affect the Argentinian, who drove the champion into his own corner and landed a clean uppercut to the chin. Benvenuti hit the floor, kneeling, as his forehead touched the canvas. He rose at nine, but the referee waved his arms to call a halt at one minute and 50 seconds of the round.

 

Monzon, the new WBA and WBC middleweight champion, returned to Argentina and bolstered his impressive record with three more stoppage wins in non-title contests, before giving Benvenuti a rematch. The bout took place at the Stade Louis II, Fontvieille, Monaco on 8th May 1971, six months after their first encounter.

 

Monzon made light work of the former champion, knocking him down once in the second and again in the third before Benvenuti’s manager threw in the towel after 65 seconds of the round.

 

The former undisputed welterweight and middleweight champion Emile Griffith was next to challenge Monzon on 25th September 1971 at Estadio Luna Park, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Since his unanimous points defeat to Jose Napoles in October 1969, Griffith returned to the middleweight division and won eleven fights in a row, which included a ten-round decision in a rematch with Dick Tiger, whom he claimed the undisputed middleweight title in April 1966.

 

Monzon, twenty-nine years old - four years the junior of Griffith - weighed 159 pounds (72.12 Kg) three pounds (1.36 Kg) more than his challenger. The champion’s crisp left lead was a major weapon throughout much of the fight. Monzon would occasionally mix in some right-handers as Griffith moved forward, looking to land a damaging punch. 

 

The Argentine’s cool and cautious approach was neglected in the fourteenth round when he unleashed a savage flurry of punches to end the contest. Griffith was undoubtedly hurt when he crouched helplessly in his corner as Mexican referee Ramon Berumen waved the finish. 

 

Monzon finished the year with a non-title victory before travelling back to the very arena in Rome where he won the middleweight title on 4th March 1972. His challenger was the American Denny Moyer who hailed from Portland Oregon. He followed his grandfather, Harry Moyer Snr, and his father Harry, along with his uncle Tommy Moyer into the ring.

 

Moyer had a distinguished amateur career and turned professional in 1957. In October 1962 he won the inaugural WBA light-middleweight title, outscoring Joey Giambra and in February 1963 he added the inaugural WBC title, outpointing Stan Harrington, before losing the belts to Ralph Dupas two months later. By the time he challenged Monzon, Moyer, at thirty-two years old, had compiled a resume of 83-22-4 (23 KOs). However, all the American’s experience was no match for the naturally bigger Monzon, who stopped Moyer at the one-minute and 50-second point of round five.

 

On 17th June 1972, Carlos Monzon stayed in Europe, travelling to France to defend his world titles against Jean-Claude Bouttier. The Frenchman had only lost three since turning professional in October 1965 and won the EBU middleweight title in June 1971. However, Monzon proved his class, knocking Bouttier down in the sixth, before the challenger decided to retire on his stool at the end of the twelfth round.

 

Monzon made the fifth defence of his belts in Copenhagen, Denmark, against Tom Bogs on 19th August. The challenger, from Copenhagen, represented his country at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, reaching the quarterfinals and accumulated an impressive professional record of 63-4-1 (24 KOs), which included winning the EBU light-heavyweight title in September 1968 and the EBU middleweight crown twelve months later.

 

Bogs was a clever boxer and he managed to cut the champion over the left eye in the fourth round. The Argentine responded by upping his pace and knocked the Dane down three times in round five, stopping Bogs for the first time in his career with 30 seconds of the round remaining.

 

Monzon returned to Buenos Aires on 11th November to face Bennie Briscoe for the second time at the Estadio Luna Park. Since their last drawn meeting in May 1967, Briscoe took part in thirty contests, winning twenty-four and losing six to bring his record to 43-10-1 (36 KOs). 

 

Briscoe, who felt hard done by in their first meeting, had little to complain about in the rematch - apart from badly stunning Monzon in the ninth round and not pushing for a knockout - as the three judges unanimously sided with the Argentinian 150-139,149-139 and 149-143, respectively.

In May 1973, Monzon returned to Rome to stop America’s Roy Dale in the fifth round without his world championship at stake, before facing Emile Griffith for a second time on 2nd June at Monaco’s Stade Louis II stadium. Since their last meeting, Griffith had won his next six contests, before losing by a seventh-round disqualification when he hit Jean-Claude Bouttier low and drawing with Nessim Max Cohen. 

 

The challenger, now thirty-five years old, was giving away five years and two pounds (907g) to the 159-pound (72.12 Kg) champion. Despite Griffith’s advancement in age, it was Monzon who was struggling, as the challenger often outboxed and outpunched the younger man. In the eighth, the Argentine landed a good left-right combination, before getting staggered by a right hand as he looked to press the action. However, Griffith did not take advantage and was starting to fade by the tenth, allowing Monzon to stage a counterattack. Griffith was cut in the fourteenth as the champion went on to win by scores of 147-145, 147-144 and 147-143.

 

"It was a rough decision,” reflected Griffith. “I really thought I became champion again."

 

“It was the most difficult fight of my career,” admitted Monzon. “I thought it was a draw up to the eleventh. Griffith is very strong, but I won."

 

On 29th September 1973, the defending middleweight champion was back in Paris for his rematch with Jean-Claude Bouttier. The Frenchman had won six contests since his June 1972 defeat against the Argentinian, which included a disqualification victory against Griffith and a ninth-round stoppage over Antonio Aguilar, who handed Monzon his first professional defeat in August 1963.

 

The champion showed his power, knocking down his opponent three times, but, unlike in their original meeting, Monzon had to settle for a unanimous decision, winning by scores of 145-139, 148-145 and 147-138.

 

Monzon then accepted the challenge of thirty-four-year-old welterweight king, Jose Napoles in February 1974. It was a highly anticipated matchup between two dominant champions and a classic good big ‘un versus a good little ‘un. Monzon was a naturally big middleweight and weighed smack on the limit of 160 pounds (72.57 Kg), whilst Napoles, who started his career as a featherweight, scaled in at 153 pounds (69.40 Kg). However, some boxing experts believed that the Argentinian, who had struggled to points victories in his last two outings, might be in decline and could struggle with the highly skilled veteran and his powerful left hook. 

 

An electric atmosphere surrounded this historic battle between two all-time greats of the ring, and for two rounds the action lived up to those expectations. Despite giving away six pounds (2.72 Kg), it was the challenger who took the fight to his bigger adversary, darting inside Monzon’s defences and letting his hands go as the Argentine did his best to keep the Cuban at bay with his superior reach. The crowd roared in appreciation every time Napoles attacked with gusto and drove the champion to the ropes during the first three minutes. 

 

Mantequilla continued his attack in round two as he took chances to press the advantage. Then, with a minute elapsed in the round, Monzon made his natural size count, catching the Cuban flush on the jaw with a right hand. Napoles, off-balance, was sent crashing across the ring as the difference in size and power was now evident. Fortunately for the challenger, he was not badly hurt and continued to go about his work, beating the champion to the punch, though his punches were not having the desired effect that they were at welterweight.

Monzon clearly took the third round, in what was so far an entertaining and fast-paced contest. Napoles boxed with great skill in the fourth, jabbing effectively and countered with precision, to raise the hopes of his adoring Mexican supporters back home in his adopted country.

 

Those hopes were short-lived, as in round five, the Cuban began to tire and allowed the champion to come forward with his dangerous right hand. Napoles became a stationary target and the Argentinian opened up and landed some big, heavy punches. The challenger was evidently hurt, and his right eye was injured, with Monzon looking like one clean blow would end the contest in the closing seconds of the round.

 

The sixth continued in the same vein, as the fading Napoles fired back as best he could. It was to no avail for the outgunned challenger, as Monzon found the target for his lethal right hand and methodically beat up his smaller opponent, hammering him repeatedly with heavy punches. At one point he even held the Cuban exile's jaw with his left gloved hand and clubbed him on the chin with his right. Napoles took clean punches and at the bell and he returned to his corner on unsteady legs.

 

Napoles stayed on his stool when the bell tolled to start the seventh and trainer Angelo Dundee signalled to the referee that his man had had enough in a fight that signalled the necessity for weight divisions.

 

“Monzon sure knew how to use the thumb,” said the cornerman of Napoles, Phil Silver. “The way Jose’s eye looked, there was not much else we could do.”

 

“He did it with his left hand,” reiterated Napoles afterwards, “pushing my arm aside and shoving his thumb in my eye. It blinded me for the rest of the (sixth) round.”

 

However, the thumbing allegations were swiftly debunked by Raymond Baldeyrou the French referee, who said: “The business about Monzon sticking a thumb in his eye is completely untrue; an excuse.”

 

Monzon continued to defend his middleweight belts stopping Australia's Tony Mundine in the seventh round eight months after beating Napoles. He then stopped Tony Licata in June 1975 and Gatien Tonna to end the year, before twice outpointing Colombia’s Rodrigo Valdez in June 1976 and July 1977, respectively. He announced his retirement after the second Valdez contest, making fourteen defences of the world middleweight championship - a record that was broken by Bernard Hopkins in the early 2000s - bowing out of the sport at the age of thirty-four with an 87-3-9 (59 KOs) record.

 

Monzon’s life outside of boxing was a disaster area. His first wife signalled the end of their violent relationship by shooting him, with one of the bullets staying in his back for the rest of his life. In 1989 he was jailed for eleven years for the murder of his mistress Alicia Muniz, who mysteriously fell from the balcony of the former champion’s home. Monzon died, aged fifty-two, along with his friend on 8th January 1995 whilst driving down a country road as he returned from permitted temporary home leave back to Las Flores prison when his car overturned.  

 

All the best fight fans

Lea

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