53 years ago today: Carlos Roque "Escopeta" Monzón vs. Benjamin "Bad Bennie/Black Robot" Briscoe II

Round 15

Monzón is protecting his lead, drifting away from Briscoe, jabbing, and tying up when caught on the ropes. Briscoe is X'ing his arms to block what he can, but still getting his forehead scraped by plenty of jabs. Briscoe's tank might be spent as he's yet to get a piece of Monzón's body nearly a minute in. 1-2-3s by Monzón, just space-savers, no real force behind them. Briscoe now fights off the ropes with Monzón clocking every head movement with a recalibrated jab. Both feeling the pace of the previous fourteen rounds, but Monzón rallies to the sound of the crowd, indulging them with a bit of an inside rumble. Both ding each other on the side of the head with uppercuts. They flurry until the bell.

10-9 Monzón

147-138 Monzón

 

I really wish that a) there were footage of the draw in their '67 encounter and b) that they'd made it a trilogy. It's a compelling blend of styles and temperaments, and I'd gladly watch this pair fight over any distance.