Hearns vs Monzon @ 160

Monzon/Benvenuti I has to be one of the most over-rated performances of its kind of all time. It was an almost amateurish fight at times, with Monzon never being pushed enough to show the skills he eventually did against Napoles, Griffith and Valdez.

 

It was also incredibly boring until the stoppage.

 

Dude, you seem like a great, knowledgable poster with one big blind spot. MOST "experts" think very highly of Monzon. I think highly of him. I have no personal bias toward an Argentinian murderer. I just recognize greatness when I see it.
Having said that, I think James Toney is highly overrated, lazy, sloppy, and generally complete rubbish. I just don't try to ram that point of view down everyone's throat on a consistent basis.

 

You're not wrong, but Monzon took chances often and was not afraid to get hit. He ground Benvenuti down before getting off with that great right, but Nino was always a rugged and crafty competitor.

If there was something that Hearns lacked other than stability it was a conventional defence, preferring to pull back or fire back when threatened. His plea to outbox Monzon, if the fight got into the double figures, would be looking pretty shaky by then.

Carlos may be deemed sluggish, perhaps even casual, but as Wladimir Kiltschko touched upon in the latest Ring magazine, it is not the speed but anticipation that gives you control, and Monzon was great at gauging your movements. The way he swooped in long body shots to the belly seems alien for a boxer of that build but it worked.

In a nutshell, Ted Spoon views Monzons combination of strength and smarts too great for a talented but ultimately temperamental Hearns to escape the ring a winner.

 

Hmm, I don't see it that way. I post when I think I can make an informative contribution. I rarely start threads about Monzon. I don't particularly dislike Monzon personally. If you think Toney is over-rated, I'm sure many posters would like to hear why.

 

I haven't counted them. This is just guesswork based on what I can remember. Pretty low output, and hitting air for the most part. Little quality work there and certainly no aggression, apart from rabbit punching if you count that. Benvenuti was doing nothing.

 

When?

Rugged? I'm not trying to disgree deliberately, but Benvenuti always seemed to lack activity and killer instince to me.

True, but Monzon has that defect in abundance, and it would cost him more dearly here up against a taller man with all the advantages from the outside. Whoever gets to the punch first will win this in all probability, and reason says that that man is Hearns.

I agree.

 

When did I say he threw 18 punches? :huh

Look, maybe my number was off; I haven't watched the fight in the last year that I can remember. Like I said, the 15-20 number was a guess. The bottom line is that there was very little action in a fight another poster referred to as being a display of "aggression" by Monzon.

 

I do see your point somewhat re Monzon's aggression. But in my earlier posts, I stated that Monzon's inherent patterns (more often than not) were to allow the opponent to come to him (preferably for him). He is not coming right after an opponent like a Hagler. For Monzon being aggressive was to stay within range and look for opportunities. Did he still fight off the backfoot...yes. Did he look for a shootout? No. It seemed to me when Monzon did press in some exchanges with Bouttier and Moyer, he looked awkward. But those circumstances are few and very far between. In the films, Monzon stays within himself and his strengths and that is what made him so consistant.

What makes a fight with Hearns interesting is that Monzon would have to go outside of his normal patterns to win. Is he capable? I think his record shows he is...

 

I stated why, in my post, I think Toney is overrated. Beating that point into the ground would be trying to ram this view down others throats and more importantly trying to dominate a thread with my narrow viewpoint. Others think highly of Toney, I respecfully disagree. I'm suggesting perhaps you could respecfully disagree, then let others have their point, and not try to hammer everyone into the ground on the subject. I state that respecfully and I respect your knowledge, not trying to get nasty about it.

 

You find it laughable that Thomas Hearns might knock out a middleweight? Bear in mind he has KOd light heavyweights and cruiserweights.

Personally I think Monzon takes this. Great bigger guy vs great smaller guy.

 

Saying that the 2nd or 3rd best MW ever would stop Hearns is not exactly a controversial call. We aren't talking about Sven Ottke here.