Jose Mantequilla Napoles - Artful Aggression

Good stuff RC. I must admit the first time I saw Napoles fight was in his loss to to stracey. Not a ideal fight for a introduction to a great welter like Napoles, but even in that fight u could see the talent. Happily since I've watched some of his great title fights and seen just how bloody great he was. So thumbs up for this thread.

 

Just got finished watching this, incredible performance. Napoles is so unpredictable, leading with power punches of every variation I can think of but not often enough to let Lewis forget about his jab. All the time bobbing, he has a great locomotive energy, constantly in rhythm to unleash effective offence. Great feet, great inside, great outside, great chin, and a natural fluidity to all his movement. Wow!

I also watched Monzon/Napoles right before this, imagine how amazed I was after going to boxrec and discovering the Napoles I had watched delivering such a delicious demolition versus H. Lewis was 34 years old and a mere 6months after getting demolished himself by Monzon. However, as much as I enjoyed Lewis 2, it was Mantequilla in his bid for middleweight glory which made the greatest impression on me. Napoles comes out of the blocks his usual self, throwing and landing with beautiful accuracy, always on his toes, in his rhythm, but after a couple rounds the bigger man starts landing long, straight, heavy shots and in the final round especially Monzon goes to town on him, nailing him over and over but Napoles just keeps coming forward each and every time you think he is done, still landing occasionally and still trying to fight and win! Thankfully Dundee stopped it in the corner because Jose had zero quit in him. This legend has insane heart to go with some of the silkiest skills I have ever seen in a boxing ring.

Thanks again for posting this video, I will continue to watch more of his fights (and re-watch the ones I have seen already) and one day far in the future maybe I will post a Jose Napoles appreciation thread so that another ignorant boxing fan can discover this gem for themselves.

 

Very nicely put.

I've found it's the rhythm and unpredictability that make for an uncanny combination - and a captivating spectacle.

 

Hi Red! Jose was, truly, 'butter'!! I watched his fight with Monzon a few nights ago. No way he could have won but..watching it again, I don't see it as a one-sided beat down. Several rounds in I didn't see Carlos 'totally' dominating. Jose was out of his league but landing enough to warrant continuing the proceedings. Your thoughts?

 

Napoles is as good as it gets

 

agree.

 

Bump. (because this is so damn good)

 

I know you were asking red cobra but to give my opinion I was glad when they stopped it. While it is true Napoles gave a great account of himself and was still firing in round 6 when Monzon was killing him, I don't think Napoles could really hurt the bigger man and to let the fight continue would have just prolonged the inevitable beat-down. I can see the argument for letting the fight continue but for the non sadistic among us I am glad Dundee waved it off, otherwise Napoles may have never been the same and we possibly lose fights like the Lewis masterclass Jose put on later that year.

Absolutely! Are there any other fighters who fight in a similar style to Napoles you could name?

Also, could anyone tell me what 'Mantequilla' translates as?

 

Butter ...meaning he was smooth as butter

 

JoffJoff I agree with your analysis. As to your translation question, that's why I told Red he was 'butter'!
I think, in retrospect, that Jose just wanted to give it the old 'college try' against Carlos. At the time, he was heads above the other Welters.

 

Hey Red! Ouch! That *majestic thing about Eddie and Marvin stings! You know Eddie's one of my favs but I didn't 'lock on' to the hero worship and appreciation until until a few years later.
As an Indy boy who saw all of Marvin's first 10 or so fights live, I wanted a beat down of Eddie in Memphis that night but Eddie took him apart...surgically!! Marvin? He might have lost 1mil with his stubbornness. Beats Parlov and immediately defends against Franklin without taking a cheap payday. Beats an aging Victor and immediately defends against Eddie without taking a cheap payday?? I (think) Marvin is alive and well as we speak, he's done a lot of local commercials since his retirement. Sidebar: I met Marvin's son about 20 years ago working as a security guard at a high-rise here in Indy. A true gentleman and nice guy which probably would tell us that Marvin was a pretty darn good dad as well as a pretty darn good fighter!

 

All hail King Carlos! Red, I think the 'cigar store Indian' analogy might best be attributed to Patterson's effort in rounds 9-10 in the first Quarry scrap. Jeez Floyd, the punk was tired, school his arse! (smilie)