i was watching it last night, and round 10 was especially brutal for th challenger. Monzon utterly beat the crap out of him, punished him at every turn. How Valdez was able to stand up to that beating is beyond my imagination. Even though Carlos was old, he looked excellent.
This is why I always make my assertion that Monzon was so great, because he TWICE whipped Rodrigo Valdez. Valdez, for those that are unaware, was an excellent, world class fighter, who, if it were not for Monzon, would be classed as an all-time great Middleweight champion. He had all the gifts to be a dominant champion.
But that is it, he did not whip Valdez... What adds to Monzon's legacy, is that he beat the mighty fine peak Valdez twice, despite being perhaps 5/6 years past his best, right at the end of his career.
Valdez was an excellent middleweight who could box and punch, the Victory for Monzon capped off a fine career
Valdez was a cocaine fiend, and it ruined his whole life. Monzon was better, but how much coke Valdez was into leading up to fight is something I wonder about. They had a common opponent, Gratien Tonna (sp?) and both ko'd him, Monzon a bit easier.
Yes. Monzon fought Briscoe to a draw in 1967 and then dominated him in a title defense in 1972 (W15). Valdez actually scored a brutal KO over Briscoe. Get this one on DVD, it is a spectacular KO. He also scored a couple of decisions over Bennie. Valdez would have been a dominant middleweight champion in the 1970s, if not for Monzon. People would be considering Valdez an ATG. I believe Valdez is a top ten all time middleweight. Monzon's two wins over Valdez prove his status as the greatest middle.
If you check Valdez's resume, he turned pro in 1962 at age 16! So he was actually in his 15th year as a pro when he and Monzon fought. Actually he was a bit past it at that point (of course Carlos was as well.)