Smoked 2 packs of cigarettes per day while training and rarely ran.... What if he would have trained as hard as someone like Pacman or Ali ? :?
Just saying, Imagine if he was even better conditioned ... who knows.. he may have actually knocked out more people in a more dramatic fashion. In the Valdez fights he seemed to give the last rounds away because he knew he was so far ahead and maybe a bit gassed?
Ive heard stories that he wasnt a hard trainer but Ive read several accounts that say he was very intense in the gym and got a fair bit out of his sessions...He could be a bit of **** because when he was growing up he had "no need for manners"..so he was usually gruff and focused in the gym..not going around socialising and chatting to people who were coming and going. I dont think he would have knocked out Valdez anyway...it was late in his career and Valdez had a chin of iron. Carlos was a smart fighter and a cool operator...he did what he had to..usually no more..Its hard to imagine him fighting any differently. But if you want to see a more athletic and overtly impressive Monzon watch Benevuti II.
No. He never had any stamina issues whatsoever (in fact he was one of the best 15 round fighters ever), which would be the typical consequences of smoking and under-training. He was just a born ring master, I don't know any other way to put it. Fellow countryman Nicolino Locche was the same way.
Monzon didn't over-train because he didn't need to. He was as fundamentally sound as any fighter, so he typically just worked on simple things he felt needed perfecting and never over-extended himself. I think he was the same in the ring, which is part of the reason why he was able to fight the full 15 rounds as if each was the first. He didn't need to expend too much energy, he knew exactly what needed to be done to win and did it.
He seems to figt effectively at a slower pace than most boxers. It like everyone is sprinting and really trying hard, but he's calm and controlled. Great boxer.
