Who is the best Middleweight Jose Napoles (Monzon bout) could beat?

Hard to say. Napoles was doing pretty well in the beginning against Monzon before Monzon picked up the pace and found his range. I honestly don’t think he would have done much better against the upper echelon MW due to his size.
I would say the best MW he could possibly beat would probably be Iran Barkley.

 

Presumably because Duran beat Barkley and Napoles was a similar size?

 

Well, he beat Emile Griffith after Griffith had already been middleweight champ. But I also give Napoles a decent chance against Zale, LaMotta, Benvenuti and the likes of Minter and Antuofermo. Basically, anyone who he was either fundamentally better than or whose size wouldn't be a prohibitive disadvantage.

 

Prime Naoles would beat Leonard of the Haglrt fight. Hopkins (easily the most overrated fighter ever during an abysmal era of boxing for middleweight s). Griffith. Basilio. Steele. Jones. 30s middleweight champs. Nap was great.

 

The problem today is before day weighins. Make Canelo and all weighin 1 oclock the day of the fight and it's a different story. Otherwise all fantasy fights are unfair and out of division for the modern "fighter". You really can't compare Canelo or GGG to Monzon. Hagler. Greb. Robby. Any. Bec a use they were never fighting middleweight. In yr minimum weights this makes a huge difference. The guys from the past would be fighting guys who by fighttime could be 20 pds heavier than them. You just can't compare the past to the last 30 yrs.

 

Napoles wasn't a big welterweight let alone middleweight. He came in under the junior middleweight range against Monzon. His great skills and ability are severely nullified against guys that are just so much bigger and stronger. He's also an aggressive counter puncher and for mine wouldn't transcend the divisions as well as a Duran. He'd be awkward early when fresh but would wear down at the weight against very good fighters. Guys like Hopkins, Jones, SRR and Hagler would certainly beat him.

Jel makes some good points. Smaller guys that made a mark at 160 like Duran, Basillio and Griffith would be good places to look. Less physical guys too. He'd be a lot better at the weight over 10 vs 15 that's for sure. Barkley? Barkley hits damn hard and Duran had that ATG chin even at 160. Napoles would certainly lead on the cards but could he go the distance?

So much size to give away. Napoles is every bit as good as Monzon as a fighter but he's miles behind as a middleweight. It would be fascinating to see Napoles against the likes of Minter, Antuofermo, Briscoe and co. Huge size gap vs big skill gaps.

 

Everyone should realize that this Monzon-Napoles bout was eagerly anticipated by both the experts and the boxing public back in 1973 and leading on up to the actual bout in Feb '74....the concensus was that Jose would "tame" the beast Monzon...making look "as slow as a cigar store Indian" as one writer put it. Unlike the many noobies and "80's babies" of today, both men were highly regarded...Napoles moreso, but there was a big shift in opinion of Monzon after his rather effortless, "magestic and unhurried" (adjectives used by many a boxing reporters back then) victory over Jose. Really, the Monzon-Napoles match up was no worse than a near prime, 1965 Ali feasting on a much smaller, crippled Floyd Patterson...but "ya'll musta forgot" that, huh?

 

Who is criticizing Monzon for fighting Napoles? Not sure what the problem is there.

Top welterweights gunning for the middleweight tile is commonplace throughout history. Sometimes they even succeed. Napoles is smaller than many of them but full credit for giving it a go.

Monzon was the betting favorite, make no bones about it. His standing was still very much being evaluated and he was better than thought. The Napoles win gave him a good leg up. Ironically Hopkins only started to receive his due after beating a highly rated welter as well.

Many greats without a lot of early fanfare and hype (Monzon, Hopkins, Holmes, Hagler etc) have had to battle an inordinate amount of time prior to getting their dues. Some turn pro with a lot of amateur hype, some have the chance to beat an ATG early on to establish themselves and some even combine both. The guys i mentioned had to slave away a bit harder and longer.

 

I've heard many a carping critic berate Monzon for "picking on" a much smaller and older man...ad nauseum, as a matter of fact.

 

Rocky Graziano, Alan Minter.

 

It was a legitimate fight. Napoles did ok early before the Monzon got going and the size difference kicked in.