Rodrigo Valdez How Good Was He?

Monzon is, perhaps, the greatest MW of all time, I'm not arguing that tho he used his assets, iron chin, superior reach, punching power that seemed to accelerate when tested but...
Valdez turned pro in 1962 at age 16.
He was in as many protracted wars as Carlos was for the rest of the sixties in a tough Argentine/Colombian environment.
When they finally fought, they were both past prime.
Bottom line: Tho I would say Monzon was the better MW, they fought as 'shells' and Valdez laid the wood to him in the second fight. And you can't throw out the accident that hurt Valdez's hand nor the fact that his brother was killed a few weeks prior to the initial s**** with Monzon.
Bottom line 2: Monzon may have been THE best middle.
Valdez was one BMF who would have blistered many ATG middles with those numbing combos...

 

Valdez was one of my fav fighters during that time and I watched all of his televised bouts. He was a great combination puncher with a huge right hand. I remember watching both of his bouts with Monzon very excited to finally see Monzon beaten and Valdex as the undisputed champion. Was not to be. All I remember is 30 long rounds of Monzon giving Valdez a boxing lesson. it was only until after these two wins that I became convinced Monzon was the real deal. An ATG middleweight champion.

 

You are wrong Perry. That was nothing more than Lectoure doing damage control and again even if he had signed to fight him why did he wait 2 years to fight his mandatory while fighting four fights against guys who werent even a pimple on Valdez' ass. In reality Top Rank signed Monzon and Valdez in April of 1976, a little more than 8 weeks prior to their fight.

 

Why there was a delay in fighting Valdez I don't know. However I will not try to proclaim or infer Monzon tried to duck him. I think this is bad history as so many other idiosyncrasies could have taken place that prevented the bout from occurring. I do know as a fact he signed to fight him in May of 75 way before Valdez hurt his hand.

 

Then prove it. Because you keep coming on here spouting bull**** in every post you make. The fact is that you can go back and see in the papers and magazines of the time that Monzon-Valdez wasnt signed until April 1976, 3 years after Valdez became the #1 contender. You can also see in the interviews of his fights that he was constantly chasing after Monzon and not once a mention of them being signed. In fact when Valdez beat Cohen in the post fight interview he said he wanted Monzon and that he "would sign tonight." Why say that if they already had a contract? In June 1975 Lectoure told everyone he had signed Monzon to face Valdez but then later in July he said he and Don King were still haggling over the details. The fight was never signed. Period.

 

Your the bull.... Artist not me. The things you dream up about Dempsey are a laugh riot.

 

What does Dempsey have to do with this thread? You are talking out of your ass and you know it otherwise youd prove me wrong instead of trying to reference another thread (which you know nothing about either) instead of coming back with something to corroborate your statement. Like I said, go back and watch the fights. Listen to the commentators and interviews, read the newspapers and magazines. The only reference to a contract you will find comes from Tito Lectoure who of course is going to try to paint Monzon in a better light when hes getting heckled for DUCKING Valdez. You can make all the claims you want but the fact is that Monzon avoided Valdez for three years. In June 1975 while Monzon was getting heckled in New York where Valdez trained Lectoure told everyone that he had signed with Don King to face Valdez. In July he backed off on that claim and said they were still negotiating. Nothing ever happened with those "negotiations" it wasnt until Valdez had his power hand mangled in a car accident and looked vulnerable against Cohen that Monzon jumped at the chance to fight him signing the contract with TOP RANK, not Don King, the following month. Spin that anyway you want but those are the events as they happened.

 

I saw Rodrigo Valdez fight on television a number of times and feel that he was a truly great fighter. He seemed to lose it all in sudden fashion while fighting Hugo Corro, who must rank as one of the most unwatchable fighters of all time. Could that fight with Corro be one reason that Valdez's legacy took a big hit?

- Chuck Johnston

 

Rodrigo turned pro in 1962 at age 16!!!
Both he and Carlos had been thru wars when they finally met.
After the two Monzon bouts (given all the reasons why it wasn't a good test) Valdez had HAD it
as had Monzon. His Corro fights mean nothing IMO. He was toast by then.
Bottom line: Top 10 ATG middle if his career had panned out appropriately.

 

Age just caught up with the great Colombian...it happens all of a sudden sometimes...and being perhaps, the only fan of Hugo Corro here in this forum, all I can say is that he was a clever, good defensive boxer who took advantage of his opportunity when it came his way.

 

Valdez had a tough time against Robles in 75 too.I think he was always stylistically vulnerable against slick or safety-first mobile fighters...his feet were always quite Tito-esque and a far cry away from the great punching and very good upper body work he had.

that said he was definitely a great fighter talent-wise regardless of what can be debated about coulda\woulda circumstances.I've always thought both Monzon fights were very competitive and tight, and that he didn't look declined in terms of timing, balance etc though obviously his right hand injury would have taken a toll on his punching.

Against Corro he was slower and even more plodding.Clearly past prime though he was probably still good enough to win against some of the more aggressive contenders around.Not sure if Vito could have beat that version.