Would Nunn Have Being Monzon s Downfall??

Monzon wouldn’t of seen anything like him!

Nunn was unreal.

Monzon is so tricky to gauge because his height, reach and style suited perfectly to deal with welterweights coming up…very methodically. This was pre the post Ali conveyor belt ( that seemed to be never ending producing young black American middles and heavies in the 80s ) so he didn’t have dynamic competition in speed and power etc because the talent pool was smaller.

So it’s hard to say, different eras.

 

We know just how good Nunn was.

He twice faced the #1 in the world in the games most stacked division and completely blew them aside (Tate, Kalambay); that’s obscene.

He even dominated an in-shape hungry as hell Toney for 10 rounds more impressively than Roy Jones did a severely weight-starved version, by standing right in front of him all night just bamboozling him (rather than the smart tactics of Jones-bouncing around the ring like a bunny).

 

This.

 

Sometimes I have some of the same feelings you stated. It can be so hard to compare great fighters because so many variables are involved. If there could be a fantasy tournament, I often wonder which fighters would live up to our expectations and which ones would not. I think you can find flaws with just about any fighter's career, even the great ones.

 

Hey Richard

I don't think Nunn was feather-fisted. He stopped the durable Juan Roldan and knocked out another durable fighter in Sumbu Kalambay. He also flattened tough Curtis Parker before becoming champ.
At least, I think he hits hard enough to make Monzon respect him. I think his other tools and assets like height, reach, speed of hand and foot, good boxing IQ and southpaw stance is enough to give Monzon serious trouble.

Nunn did have some lackluster performances, but I think he sometimes fought down to the level of his opponents. I don't think he'd have that problem with Monzon, obviously.

 

Exactly ..

 

Look, I absolutely say he was a great fighter .. I just don't say walked on water .. at the time many didn't think he was a big deal .. read Sports Illustrated coverage of his title defense at the Garden ,,
'
https://vault.si.com/vault/1975/07/14/a-tworing-circus

"Monzon is heavy on the eyes. He is sloppy. He is slew. He has no leverage nor the slightest notion of how to achieve it. His lack of velocity is stupefying and, on the evidence of this fight, the next combination he throws will be his first."

Styles make fights and there were men that had the tools to match up well against him ..

 

Another different description .. again, I know Monzon was a great, great fighter .. he is a favorite of mine .. just thinking it through ..

Sports Illustrated, June 26, 1972

"Monzon is the kind of lamb to make wolves seek other employment. He is tall for a middleweight, only an inch short of 6 feet, with a torso that is compact rather than dramatically muscled. His reach is exceptional, but the slim arms do not give that impression of dangling limpness seen in lesser fighters. There is frightening strength in the elasticity of those long muscles, and the whole body has the kind of fundamental power that is deeply embedded in his inherited physiology. He has learned much in his nine years as a professional (not the least being the value of using a refined left jab to open the way for the thunderous cross fire of his hooking), but the qualities that set Carlos Monzon apart were given to him in the womb.

Technically he is not difficult to fault. He stands up straight, so that his rather long neck puts the handsome head well above the line of his shoulders. "Like a lantern in a storm," said a veteran American critic at Colombes. The answer is that pedantry is for those who need it. Monzon's method is related to profound confidence, the conviction that he has the animal authority to dominate almost any man they put in front of him. He has never been knocked down and, as someone once said of Marciano, he finds it hard to forget how strong he is. It shows in his eyes."

 

Monzon is overrated but not as overrated as Nunn and the immediate post-Hagler era around here.
It's notable how the splintering of the middleweight titles inflated the reputations of a lot of mediocre middleweights.
Nunn was the best of the bunch 1987-'90 but that bunch has been grossly overrated in recent years, specifically on this forum.

 

Have to say monzon was a proven fighter. He's not the kind of fighter you can say "why didnt he fight so and so?"

and didnt suffer so many knockdowns like Ray Leonard in a short career

I only seen him dazed once in a fight and in the Valdez fight, immediately got up

Still, it would have been interesting to see how he would fare against the slippery Nunn

I dont think there were a really good batch of middleweights during his reign; lackluster group such as Jean Claude Bouttier, & Tony Licata

the middleweights didnt get good until AFTER he retired

 

Agree with a a lot of the posts about Monzon being, slow, one-paced, no speed, etc, and to a degree they have a point, BUT the thing is fighters like Monzon great ones, unlike Nunn ( who isnt ) always seem to find a way to victory, its hard to decipher, even harder to put in words, an inner unshakable belief that they are the better fighter, that they will eventually come out on top, the foe will be vanquished , they all had this to some extent, Louis, SRR, Greb, Ali, maybe they are born with it ?? .
Carlos would have found a way to win, he always did...... keep safe.

 

Over 12 rounds, Nunn wins a very close decision. Monzon is too slow and predictable.

 

Nunn might squeak past him but I doubt it . Monzon would get to him late

 

It can be easy to dismiss certain people because they might not have the qualities that we expect or prize the most. A lot of times people will say "the only reason this fighter or that fighter was great was because they had a height advantage, etc", but if it were that easy, anyone with similar physical attributes as Monzon should be able to copy his style and become champion as he did, which they can't. He was a 15 round fighter. I think he had tremendous physical strength and will, and knew how to use his height and reach. He also had decision making skills, knew how to pace himself, control the distance, knew when to turn it on, and when to retreat. He also wasn't affected by the lights and the crowd and was mentally strong. A lot of fighters get caught up in the excitement and lose their concentration as the fight wears on, but Monzon never wavered, he was relaxed and kept it together. That's not an easy thing to do.
It would have been interesting to see how his style would have meshed against different looks from different eras. Whether it was Charley Burley or Marvin Hagler, I think he competes against all and wins his share against the greats.

Nunn was KO'ed by James Toney. We never saw Monzon collapse like that. I think Monzon would stop him in a 15 rounder.