I know very little about Monzon and the Middleweight division at the time. It seems most rank Monzon highly as a top middleweight. How good was his resume overall, and how good was the division when he was the champ?
Thx man. Viva Monzon! Below, the great poem by Jilio Migno, written after Monzon won the Championship in 1970
I like the fellow Who in the heat of battle Was able to plant our flag In the toughest terrain. Champion in his game, Confident in his ability, he saw the vultures grouping, chased them with his hat and seared them with his poncho. If you go forward tenaciously You'll struggle through with your message, Even though your wagon gets stuck And the cattle crush you. THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THE MAN WHO WEARS OUT HIS KNIFE DEFENDING HIS HONOR. The coward hands it over to the police without ever taking it out of it's sheath. Here's to you, Carlos Monzon. One hundred percent Santafesino. The new World Champion. Strength, fists and heart. From this old tree, For you a prize of honey And a laurel wreath. From your tent a cry of victory, a woman's hand in yours And a carnation pinned to your lapel.
Yes he was one of the greats. I still think he’s a little slow handed by the standards of top middles and could be beaten to the punch or countered but these flaws were covered up because many of his best opponents were smaller guys moving up to 160. Monzon has a height and reach edge in almost all of his fights and used it. I think his chin was solid, but he faced few punchers who were natural middle weights and those who were were often shorter. The middle weight division wasn’t that great when he was champion. Monzon’s long suit was great stamina , attrition based punching, accuracy and good but not very good or great power that stayed with him. Like a great long distance runner he’d set a pace the other guy did not like and keep pressing him. A bit over rated I think.
