Who gave Carlos Monzon his closest or toughest fight?

Griffith became a much better fighter than he was pre-Benny Paret...that version was just a welterweight BTW, and would have been slaughtered by a much bigger Monzon. Griffith became a far better fighter, a patient "I don't wanna get knocked out again" type fighter after the Paret tragedy and even more so after the ko loss to Hurricane Carter...he evolved into the smart, patient fighter that outboxed **** Tiger and grew comfortably into a middleweight. The version that gave Monzon so much trouble was so successful mainly because Monzon was coming back from a shooting injury courtesy of his ex-wife....1973 wasn't the best year for Monzon.
Arthritis and the chronic hand problems that ensued forced Monzon to evolve into a more methodical and patient fighter as well.

 

Valdez would have taken a lot out of him tbh. He was a bit of a loose cannon iirc with anger issues. I can remember him getting killed in a car crash, and I think his passenger died too.

 

Not sure but Briscoe sure rocked him badly in the 9th round of their rematch .. worst I ever saw Carlos hurt and he was hurt bad.

 

He was, but he recovered quickly and was soon back in command.

 

Maybe but he sure had to hang on for his life, actually checking to see how much time was left in the round .. I never saw him close to hurt like that against anyone else ..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3f8oC9d5qU ( 2:55 )

 

I was always a fan of Carlos Monzon, he was the Middleweight champion when I first started following boxing in 1972 when I was 10. He was on the cover of my first Ring Magazine (vs Jean-Claude Bouttier).

I remembering seeing some of his fights on Wide World of Sports.

The guy always found a way to win. I think he only ended up with 3 losses an went unbeaten the last 13 years of his career before retiring.

 

I've always, and to this day, considered Monzon to be the best middleweight champ.

 

If anything, Monzon displayed a world class chin and recovery powers in that Briscoe defense.

 

Well put.

Actually, years after his retirement Monzon killed his wife and spent time in jail. He killed himself in a car accidente.

A marvelous bóxer, but a cruel human being. A truly dangerous person, in and out the ring

 

Yeah, it seems like a common thread amongst great boxers...i guess you have to have some hard, cold mean streak in you to prosper and thrive in the boxing business.

 

Yes, either Valdez, Griffith or Briscoe, I believe.

 

It's safe to say all three did.

 

Valdez was already past-prime when Monzon finally manned up and faced him.

 

Lest we forget. Rodrigo was past prime as well, having turned pro in 1962 at age 16! I'm not saying Valdez was a better MW than Monzon but we need to look at things in perspective. IMHO their Quinella mirrors the 'Thrilla in Manilla', two warriors, well past prime and a subsequent '****ysis' of how this positions both in any all time ranking. BS
Monzon? ATG!
Valdez? ATG! Maybe not as good but he would have wiped out a plethera of Middleweight Champions all-time or at least been in their **** giving them pure hell! My $0.02

 

Why didn't Monzon fight him sooner?