Carlos Roque "Shotgun" Monzón vs. "Marvelous" Marvin Nathaniel Hagler - Definitive Classic Breakdown

Round 10

Monzón is backing up, hooking past Briscoe's jab. 1-2s from Monzón. Briscoe bullying him, head low, jabbing high, hoping to trap him in a corner again. Monzón being careful not to let that happen. Briscoe blocking a good number of Monzón's shots, applying intelligent pressure, sometimes pushing both arms upward bunched together in front of his face to form a one man testudo. Hard body shots by Briscoe. Monzón countering with light uppercuts in retreat, not setting his feet. HARD jab on the face by Briscoe. They exchange jabs with Monzón nearly caught in a corner but able to turn Briscoe around. Monzón with a late 1-2 backs Briscoe up. Monzón throws a few more, getting the crowd to roar, but Briscoe blocking virtually all of it.

10-9 Briscoe, very close

98-92 Monzón

 

Round 11

Monzón starts out with a flush hook. Now some quick flash jabs in the face. Monzón with a pair of 1-2-3's while breaking stride to avoid the corner. Briscoe walks into a slam-bang 1-2 and might be hurt. Crowd is electrified. Monzón goes for it. Jabs, hooks, uppercut, straight barrages. Briscoe weathering it all, crossing his arms over his throat in an X, bowing to either side, keeping his chin digging into his chest. Briscoe counter-jabbing where he can but unable to get Monzón's respect and back him off. Briscoe in sustained trouble. Monzón finally seems to want to repay Briscoe for round 8. Monzón throwing everything with hurtful intentions. Briscoe too tough to rattle however.

10-9 Monzón

108-101 Monzón

 

Round 12

Monzón is jabbing Briscoe in the face 3 or 4 times before Briscoe can even get off a shot. Briscoe is shoveling palm-up rights at the body and lunging in with high jabs. Monzón maintaining distance with the jab. Briscoe carrying his left arm lower and Monzón able to toss a 1-2 past his shoulder and into his jaw. Monzón walked into the corner but Briscoe isn't able to take advantage as Monzón jabs his way clear and along the ropes. Briscoe lands a jab, and is hit with a 1-2 in response. A few body shots by Briscoe but Monzón grabs and twirls him away. Monzón with a 1-2 past the jab as Briscoe tries burying his face out of its trajectory but gets found & hit anyway. Monzón doubles a jab, getting Briscoe to duck, almost into the path of another right but Briscoe able to move his head in time. 1-2-3 by Monzón, clean. Jab battle, Briscoe badly outdone throwing 1:1 but all of his missing and all of Monzón's scoring.

10-9 Monzón

118-110 Monzón

 

Round 13

Monzón is jabbing, stepping left, jabbing, and stepping left. Briscoe tries a whipping right at the body but Monzón has the same idea, getting there first. Monzón is working the 1-2 and 2-3 backing up. Briscoe getting knocked off balance by some of Monzón's jabs. Briscoe's pressure unraveling as Monzón continuously finds him with jabs, 1-2s, and uppercuts thrown in a shallow rainbow arc from his chest to Briscoe's chin. Monzón starts tossing left hooks now and Briscoe taking a bit of a pasting, with the Buenos Aires faithful roaring to life once more.

10-9 Monzón

128-119 Monzón

 

Round 14

Monzón is circling in close at ring center, perhaps eager to pick up where he left off and believing that Briscoe is ripe for the picking. Monzón flooding Briscoe's face with jabs. Slowly the old pattern reemerges, with Briscoe pointing his dome at Monzón and edging him across the ring. Monzón twisting and leaning to slip the lead right of Briscoe. Monzón with both hands low, giving Briscoe much less respect now. 2 and 3 punch combos score for Monzón, delighting the crowd - but the buzz from R13 has largely subsided. Monzón boxing more tactically now, letting Briscoe back into it. Briscoe catches Monzón leaning on the ropes with a jolting lead right. Briscoe ducks a flurry and rises with an up-jab on the chin. Another soaring right hand by Briscoe, and another - and Monzón felt that! Monzón circling far away now, jabbing until the bell.

10-9 Briscoe

137-129 Monzón

 

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

 

12 rounds to 3 on my card... that's quite a reversal from reportedly deserving only 2 rounds of ten in their first match.

I really wish that a) there were footage of the draw 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.

 

This content is protected

Marvin Nathaniel Hagler* vs. Benjamin Briscoe, 10 rounds @ middleweight


*he did legally change his name to "Marvelous Marvin Hagler", but not until 1982, four years after he fought Briscoe. I follow the convention of referring to, for instance, Liston vs. Clay I and Ali vs. Liston II.

 

ENORMOUS pop for Briscoe from 15k fans at The Spectrum. They sound worshipful of him already as Escopeta's fans in the Estadio Luna Park six years earlier.

 

40-2-1 (33) vs. 60-16-6 (50), both top-10 world ranked by the WBC and WBA.

They used to just randomly televise bangers like this on the regular. Boggles the mind.

 

Round 1

Hagler with lots of movement, letting the southpaw jab flow. Briscoe has a bloody nose already from that right jab. Hagler with a left uppercut thrown while rounding a corner. Hagler notably moving much more rapidly and fluidly than Monzón did against Briscoe (the Argentinian was more judicious, always adjusting himself to be out of reach but with subtler, staccato steps). Briscoe loading up with both hands but has so far not been able to touch Hagler, taking an absolute fusillade of jabs.

10-9 Hagler

 

The stated prize for the winner is a crack at the winner of Corro vs. Valdez II, scheduled for 2½ months later.

 

Round 2

Briscoe is trying with wide body shots with either hand but nothing making contact with much conviction. Hagler moving constantly, with frequent directional changes, sometimes bouncing in place. Hagler is scoring from outside with not just jabs now but lead lefts and right hooks on the chest. The commentators are making much of Briscoe "staying on top of Hagler", and end up giving him the round "on aggression". That's pretty silly, IMO, as he barely landed anything.

10-9 Hagler

20-18 Hagler

 

Round 3

Briscoe is lunging up top with scything rights but falling short as Hagler dances around, popping the jab into Briscoe's bloody nose. Clinch. Break. Body shots by Briscoe, uppercut by Hagler. Dancing outside again, Hagler paintbrushing the face of Briscoe with his jab. Briscoe keeps moving in but unable to force an inside brawl, getting grabbed and wrestled whenever he bobs and weaves in past the southpaw jab. Hagler for the most part evading him, galloping away behind the jab, sometimes standing his ground on the ropes, rumbling for a moment and then pushing off. Hagler scores a jab and then a right hook off the jab while Briscoe bangs down low. Hagler cut from a headbutt, commenators making much ado about it.

10-9 Hagler

30-27 Hagler

 

Round 4

Hagler jabs and switches, starting southpaw, orthodox and back again. Briscoe muscles him into the ropes and plugs away on the body. Hagler is needling that jab into Briscoe's face and turning some right hooks over just above his ear. Briscoe relentlessly working the body after using that George Foremanesque cross-armed defense to push his way inside. Briscoe ducks a straight left hand and works the body some more. Heads grinding together a bit in the clinch. Hagler's cut worsening; play by play man says it's dripping down into his eye. Briscoe walking through multiples of jabs from either stance, Hagler switching every few steps, but finding neither is any more advantageous in slowing Briscoe down.

10-9 Briscoe

39-37