Never knew much about this guy and haven't heard a lot mentioned about him.. Apparently ring magazine had him rated sometime between 1979-1980. Doesn't seem to have beaten too many notable people though. he was undefeated wit a record of 20-0-1 before losing to Scott Ledoux, then retired at about 25-2-1-16 after being beaten by Greg Page. Eddie Lopez and Lynn Ball seem to be among his better wins.. What do you guys know about him?
Monroe was featured on weekend TV a few times in 1980 and 81. After the LeDoux loss and (Ron Lyle conquering) Lynn Ball win he hovered around #15 in Ring's ratings. It was the TKO win over Eddie Lopez that brought him up to #6 for several months. The Lopez win was a good one as Lopez was coming off a draw against Leon Spinks and had only lost, via decision, to John Tate and Gerry ****ey. Going into the Greg Page fight Ring rated Monroe #6 and Page #8. Following that loss Page and Monroe switched places in the ratings. Monroe then gradually fell out due to inactivity. As I recall, Monroe came across as a likable guy and a capable heavyweight, though a little small to compete against the big boys. Monroe-Ball, LeDoux-Monroe, Page-Monroe, and Monroe-Pulu (early fight) all are on YouTube.
Good post. I saw the Monroe vs Page fight on youtube and noticed that Marty was kinda small by comparison to Greg.. Might have been one of the factors that limited his success in that era.
Page utterly destroyed him Despite being 35 lbs heavier, Page was much faster. It was a shutout Page should have stayed at that weight, but of course often ballooned up
I saw his fight with Lynn Ball and Page at the time and the size difference between he and Page was the most notable, not to mention Page also had the speed over him. Against Ball I recall Ball really hammering him, but Lynn Ball had absolutely no chin. Lyle had him down before getting pole-axed himself and Monroe seemed to just push out a counter and had Ball on the floor. If Ball had a jaw there's no telling how far he could have gone. But Monroe went about as far as he could. Like everyone ahs mentione, he was just a bit smallish.
He was a good fighter , too small for heavyweight in that era and was smart enough to get out without suffering too much damage ..
Monroe got a lot of press because he was a well-dressed and well-spoken guy with presence who was managed by his wife. The two of them had a movie star couple aura around them that was easy to sell. Monroe was a talented boxer who probably should have been fighting under 200 lbs. The Page fight really showed his limitations, where the previous knockout over Ball hid them well. I think he accepted that he was not going to get a title shot and wasn't a top echelon heavyweight and retired sooner than most.
I liked Marty Monroe as a fighter until he was taken apart in a televised bout with Greg Page. - Chuck Johnston
Links into the Monroe fights gives you those Weaver, Page , LeDoux, etc late 70's -early 80's cross links with **** Stockton & Gil Clancy "calling the shots" on CBS Sports Spectacular.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf0NZX7MmMc The tale of the tape has him bigger than I remember him, maybe it's my age?
