Why did Monzon not face Valdez in 1974?

Good stuff mate :good

 

For the record Rodrigo Valdez and chicken claw yield unappealing results on google image search.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?n...boqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LmcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6762,5895513

 

I disagree with the assessment by the author of the above article. Valdez, to me, did not look the same fighter he had prior to the accident when he fought Cohen, who should have been easy meat for him. Cohen was never the most durable guy and by this time wasnt very popular in France. His last big fight he quit against Tony Mundine after taking a hammering. The stoppage was almost identical to the Valdez fight. He had also lost to the aging Bettini and gotten gift draws against Griffith and Gregory (who schooled him and put on his best impression of Ali in the process, really interesting fight). Im not even sure how Cohen got a title shot except for the fact that he was French and middleweight boxing was spending a lot of time in France. Valdez was patient to the point of being tentative early on and on the few occasions he actually threw his right hand he seemed almost to pull it in mid punch. Valdez began opening up in the second but Cohen continued to box around him in circles despite it being obvious early on that his jab was weak and he dropped it and his defense consisted of backing straight back into the ropes whenever Valdez threatened. This should have been perfect for a right hand puncher like Valdez. Finally Valdez picked up on this at the end of the second and chased the retreating Cohen into a corner where he fired several punches after the bell but throughout the first 2 and a half rounds Valdez continually missed with his right and several times was countered to the head and body by Cohen. Valdez continued with this pattern and was having a good round three, peppering Valdez with jabs and landing left hooks to the head and body when Valdez landed a looping right hand that caught Cohen off balance as he slipped to the canvas. Cohen protested the knockdown and when the count was over he went right to Valdez as if he was trying to prove something. This quick change altered the entire fight because Cohen, in trying to trade with Valdez, took away whatever success he was having boxing at long range and was quickly dumped by Valdez and this time was hurt. The round ended seconds later and after a rocky start to the fourth Cohen seemed to start getting his legs back under him before he got trapped on the ropes at the end of the round and without seriously being hurt did exactly the same thing he did against Mundine, he turned waved his arm and started walking away from the action. He just quit. Watching that fight Valdez was more reserved than in some of his earlier bouts where he was pressure pressure pressure, because of this Cohen was able to utilize his height and reach advantage to trouble Valdez. Cohen was awkward but he wasnt durable at all and quit when the going got rough. He was a front runner. The old Valdez would have crushed him more quickly and more conclusively. Valdez still had power in his right but in the first he was tentative in throwing it. The above factors must have made Monzon's mouth water.


Below is the "chicken claw" as mentioned above. The picture isnt very clear due to the age but notice how Valdez' fingers are deformed past the first knuckle, particularly the index finger which is twisted, deformed, and still shows scarring and scabs:
http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z335/klompton/vlcsnap-2014-10-21-18h27m45s214_zps1e25319b.png
http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z335/klompton/vlcsnap-2014-10-21-18h28m01s55_zps689e9f13.png

 

Thanks for photo klompton his hand looks like Chubbs's wooden hand from Happy Gilmoure

 

:rofl So true!

 

Valdez was never a proficient pressure fighter imo.His footwork was always his worst attribute for me.A plodder without a well-balanced base.

A shame as he was a superb fighter from the waist up.And yeah, the Monzon fights should have happened a few years earlier for sure, before both were injured and on the slide.

 

He was a round snoozer as well.

 

You think? Ive always felt what made Valdez such a tank was his balance. When youve got a guy who can consistently back Briscoe up, stagger him, drop him, and keep coming youve got a pretty effective pressure fighter. Briscoe had a jab like a piston and Valdez just kept coming through it. At one point in their first fight they landed simultaneously and Briscoe was sent staggering across the ring will Valdez just chugged forward.

 

Chicken claw or not...IMO Monzon takes any version of Valdez.

 

i don't think he was ill-suited against someone who was going to come straight at him and look to back him up, or was wanting to stand and mix it at ring-centre.He didn't really need to be a pressure fighter most of the time against Briscoe.

It's against the more mobile fighters i see problems in his footwork.Something about his stance and movement just never seemed natural to me, he let's himself get turned so often, re-sets when he doesn't need to a lot etc...A bit like Tito, though i do think Valdez was a better fighter and overall boxer-puncher than Felix.

 

Is this based on the stuff that happened against middleweight jimmy young?

 

I guess I can see the comparison I just think he was pretty effective at what he was doing. The Trinidad comparison is a good one but I also thought Trinidad was pretty darn effective at walking guys down. They called him creeping death sometimes and its an apt title but in my opinion Valdez was a lot less patient (which is a good thing IMO). The turning thing is interesting because I have the same criticism of Griffith who can look too mechanical sometimes and as a result get a little tied up and both guys were stablemates. It takes a very good boxer with a lot of movement and with the ability to stick to his gameplan to beat someone like a Valdez or Trinidad at their best. Monzon wasnt really the movement type of guy. He was like gumby in the ring above the waist but as far as footwork goes he wasnt a dancer by any stretch this would always give Valdez opportunities. Valdez problem with Monzon was always going to be his height, reach, and awkward upper body movement but prime for prime I think Valdez has a real shot.

 

In a word, WBC and WBA BS.
Most folks see Monzon on a typical path to the title.
Rodrigo turned pro in 1962 at the tender age of 16.
His career wasn't strengthened until he came Stateside in 1970 under Gil Clancy.
Many wars from both prior.
A true shame that we couldnd't have seen them prime, tho I always thought that Monzon would have copped a UD given his style and structure.
Two HOF'ERS IMO!
Rodrigo, always a slow starter, was a wrecking machine!
IMO I see a whupdown against Lamatta or Zale, or Graziano, pvp.
To repeat, what a wrecking machine; unless he was cut badly, he would have taken the above out. My $0.02:twisted::twisted:

 

That performance vs Briscoe in their 2nd bout showed you what a great fighter/puncher/finisher Valdez was...and an older, near the end Carlos Monzon showed what a great, great fighter he was...the greatest middleweight champion,
by beating him handily in '76 and '77.