Carlos Monzon and Jake Lamottas outside the ring behaviour

Monzon was a lunatic before he took a lot of punches

 

LaMotta admitted he was brutal all his life, when he was still a young man. A couple rapes, two incidents where he thought he committed a murder, supposedly, a guy he knew that he was robbing, and his woman he was beating, but found them to be alive, by golly, etc. But a lot of stuff before you'd think boxing had anything to do with it. That said, you never really know with brain damage. Someone could've punched him when he was 12 and made him an effing lunatic. I just think it's those two's particular makeup, from what I've gathered.

 

I think LaMotta transformed himself into an animal more or less to survive growing up. Then he was good at it so it took off from there.

 

It wasn't the punches. Most of us would know similar type people (to an extent) that didn't even box.

 

Strange, very strange, and worrying that sportsmen like them two can be lauded and praised during their career, and long, long after in LaMottas case, yet if the above were say, NFL, Footballers, Jockeys, pretty much anything other than boxers, they would have been castigated, seen as pure evil, beyond redemption, there names to be said in hushed tones, not so with boxers ? I mean Ben Johnson took drugs to win a gold ( not condoning the practice ) and he was seen as a depraved human being, at the time.

So why is it our sport seems to tolerate, and in some cases make excuses for the culprit ie: upbringing, poverty, abuse, etc, hard to justify in my eyes, in reality Monzon was a monster, a wife beating murderer, who showed no remorse or compassion for his crimes, LaMotta not much better, look I myself have spoken about both with reverence so am as guilty as the next man, and I question is it right and morale to continue doing so ?

 

This. I knew a guy whose dad used to put him and his brother into sacks to use as punchbags to toughen them up. He was a genuinely charismatic dude, but he always had a bit of an insane edge where you were never quite sure if he'd cave your head in with a shovel for the laughs. Another friend I had was much closer to him and he told me a story of where crazy guy got into a fight with some dudes and he was straight up heaving them through car windshields. Guy was always training, lifting and running, like somebody was out to get him.

 

Wait a minute-even if strong enough to pick up & throw grown men, what kind of windshield would break if hit by a person?
I mean if a standard issue windshield--which is very different from a mere window-& it is not something hard *and* heavy like a large T.V...
Can say a pro wrestler even generate enough force to do this?

 

Hey, I just heard the story, I wasn't there. Given that most of the windshields in South Africa are pre-cracked, I wouldn't be entirely surprised. I can testify that the guy was as strong as F and the picking up part is believable to me.

 

Now you have me on a mission and thinking. How possible is it? I found this, with the caveat that a plexiglass racing windshield is probably lighter than a standard glass one:

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I don't think he took many.
Anyway I judge fighters on their performances in the ring,and don't find it difficult separating that from their other lives.

 

All boxers take a lot of blows to the head but they don't all become murderers and woman-beaters.

 

This...he without sin cast the first stone.. Boxing forum not a judgment forum..we all have our opinions on boxers . Entertainment personalities..politicians ect. This is a boxing forum so I try an keep it at that. Do I think things like Ayala jr Lamotta Monzon Ali ect did are despicable of course but i separate the two as again this is a boxing forum. Let the law then God straiten the rest out.

 

I think they were gents and scholars the both of them.

 

I feel like most people who box have a little bit of nasty in them, if you didn't you wouldnt be okay with inflicting damage for a living.
Most stories don't see the light of day.

Saying that, there's guys like Evander Holyfield who has taken a lot of punishment, and it shows, but I've never heard anything except that he's a gentleman.

I think Lamotta and Monzon were a different breed, genuinely twisted morals with both of them, but if you have a little bit of that nasty in you, brain damage will make it hard to control in times of high emotion.