Greatest fighter Monzon fought?

At middleweight I presume:

1. Valdez
2. Griffith
3. Benvenuti
4. Briscoe (although let's not pretend he was an all-time great)

 

The greatest fighters he fought were Emile Griffith and Jose Napoles. As for the best opponents at middleweight, I would go with the above list.

 

Nino Benvenuti.

 

"Griffith, Napoles, Valdez, Benvenuti & Benny Briscoe." Them were Monzon's best foes'...

And this is what bothers me about Monzon, he was a BIG-ASS 160 pounder who often struggled with the scales.. And yet, in truth, his greatest pound-4-pound opponents were natural Welterweights............... "Griffith and Napoles" were little guys next to Monzon in the ring............

I like Carlos Monzon at 160 lbs. as much as anyone else who's ever smelled his jockstrap, but I do NOT think he was the greatest at 160 of all-time......... But, he definately is in the top-5, or better yet, top-3...............

I still have my golden boys of Raymond Robinson and Marvin Hagler at the top of the mountain there......... Then Monzon can come into the picture............. Also keep B-Hops and Harold Greb in tune, too....

I do NOT seriously rate guys like "Leonard, Hearns, Duran, Toney or Royal Jones" as great 160 pounders........... NONE of these dudes did much to really secure a true legacy there......... For them dudes, 160 was either icing on the cake or a momentary pit-stop that led to other things...........

Also, as much as Michael Nunn fizzled by 1991, the fact is, Nunn was a seriously skilled MO-FO at 160 pounds from 1988 thru 1990............ That Nunn could hang with the best 160 pounders from any era........... He was a slick mother.............

Okay, let the arrows fly............ I'm ready to Rock and Roll.........

MR.BILL:hey:good:scaredas::yikes

 

Monzon suffers from the same thing that Chavez did with me ... he did not fight young, fast, well conditioned top caliber American fighters. Haugen infuriated Chavez when he critized his opposition but he had a bit of a point. I feel the same with Monzon.

 

Greatest in a P4P sense was Napoles.

Greatest at MW, Benvenuti IMO.

 

Get that Historian tag off there for ****s sake.

 

Benvenuti at # 1 as a Middle.......??? WOW!!! That's a BOLD statement my man........
:deal

MR.BILL

 

Care to name who he ducked?

 

How? He was the reigning unified champion and had beaten Griffith 2 out of 3.

 

Carlito Monzon didn't duck anyone, but he did feast on several "Smaller" dudes like Griffith and Naps...........

And I'm not too sure WTF happened to Benvenuti in his early 70s rematch with Monzon....... Nino got hurt a tad, then took a few punches and then his corner called the fight..... WTF?

Bad-Ass Benny Briscoe was a rugged brawler and seasoned pro, but whether or not Philly wants to accept it, Benny Briscoe lacked that special quality to be a champion.......

Nuff said............. Monzon's competition was fine.......... No real gripe from me......... But I cannot rate Monzon # 1............. Cheerio..........

MR.BILL

 

See...... That's where I get in trouble with fans..... I cannot claim Griffith as a true Middle............ Griffith's prime weights were between 144 to 153 pounds............ Griffith got by at 160 cuz he was highly skilled, yet, he never was a solid 160 pounder..................

Nino Benvenuti was another big dude in the mold of Monzon........ But not as imposing or as strong as Carlito.......... Yes....... Benvenuti is also a great all around boxer / fighter....... I know that...... Still.?.?

MR.BILL:rasta

 

Griffith was an excellent middleweight at his best there.Brushing him off by saying he wasn't a natural Middle insults the man's body of work there.

He didn't stop being a straight up very good fighter till the mid-seventies.Definitely a fighter with a very long window of being A level.

 

Yeah, but Griff was never gonna beat Monzon at 160........ NEVER!!:deal

MR.BILL