There must have been more money to be made fighting in America and he was so dominant that I would have thought he'd be confident of knocking his opponent out if he thought there was a chance the judges might be biased.
All but 3 of his title fights were outside Argentina and South America and all in Europe(besides one I think, can't remember), so I guess I'm not understanding what you mean
Monzon was a true traveling champion who many times fought a guy in his back yard...lack of confidence was surely not his problem.
Taxes were too high I believe I read onece. It cut into his purse too deep so cant say I blame him for that.
Well, that proves my point. If he wasn't worried about the possibility of biased judges and was willing to travel then why didn't he fight more often in America where there would probably be bigger purses?
He would only be subject to taxes in his country of residence, wouldn't he? So if he was based in Argentina but fought elsewhere he would still pay his taxes to the Argentinian government.
I don't know...probably like @robert ungurean said,...could have been for tax reasons...also, Monzon didn't have the established fan base, or media love affair going on like say, Roberto Duran had...unlike Dooran, Monzon spoke no English at all, a real draw back with the media in the US...and he was rather devoid of the almost lovable, bad boy personna that Roberto had. Monzon was rather cold, aloof and remote, and somewhat hostile to the press.....not having the typical warmth that a Latin star usually exudes. He just felt more at home in Monte Carlo, Paris and Rome...all more multi lingual than the English dominated US.
There was much more money to be made in Europe. Monzon went where the money was, look at his career. There were not the American Middleweights to make more fights in the US viable.
Red Cobra is correct. Personality wise, Monzon didn't have the affable, sweet, gentlemen appeal of Arguello, nor the charisma and compelling bad boy persona of Duran. The guy was a cold, mean sonuvabitch. Honestly, just not a good person, despite being a great fighter. Moreover, his style IN the ring wasnt as exciting as Duran and Arguello, both of whom fought with a take-no-prisoners mentality in the 70s. Monzon was a lot more methodical and calculating in the ring. And while many of us (myself included) loved his style, we're boxing junkies who appreciate nuance. Monzon's style was not for casuals... whereas Duran and Arguello had styles that appealed to the mainstream as well as the purists
It's only what I remember reading in a old Sports Illustrated. I cant elaborate on it any more than that.
More money, less taxes in Europe at the time. Remember New York had robbed Ali and Frazier for 350K for their first fight and that hadn't been resolved during Monzon's reign. Eventually fought in NY, but was more comfortable in Europe and Argentina. No big deal
Economic's. Monzon title fight at MSG he was according to his promoter the first good offer from the States. $50000 take home after pay taxes. With another $ 50000 coming from Argentina Close Circuit TV revenue.
A very good post, but boxing junkies would all agree he wasn't fast, and only had solid power. A grinder type who often had a natural size or age advantage over his best opponents. Its too bad he retied when he did. I guess he had enough money. I would have liked to seen Monzon vs. a natural middle with skills in his prime, or moving up to light heavyweight. As I have said before, watching Monzon is like watching a runner slowly separate himself from the pack. Not that existing, and in his case the field of the race was nothing special at 160 pounds in almost all cases.
