Carlos Monzón - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Carlos Monzón was an Argentine

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

professional boxer

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

who held the undisputed world middleweight title for 7 years, during which he successfully defended the title 14 times.

His glamorous and violent life was avidly followed by the media, culminating with his trial for the murder of his concubine and his death in a car crash soon thereafter. Argentinians adored Monzon throughout his career. He was, however, accused many times of domestic violence by his two wives and many mistresses, and of beating paparazzi

Paparazzi

Paparazzi is an Italian term used to refer to photojournalists who specialize in candid photography of celebrities, politicians, and other prominent people...

. He toured all of Latin America

Latin America

Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...

and Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

with Argentine and Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

models and actresses. Accused of killing his wife Alicia Muniz, in Mar del Plata

Mar del Plata

Mar del Plata is an Argentine city located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, south of Buenos Aires. Mar del Plata is the second largest city of Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" had apparently the sense of "sea of the Río de la Plata region" or "adjoining sea to the Río de la Plata"...

in 1988, the former champion was sentenced to 11 years in jail. He died in a car crash during a weekend furlough. He would have been let free in 2001.

Beginning

Monzón was born in the city of San Javier, Argentina, and moved to the capital of Santa Fe Province

Santa Fe Province

The Invincible Province of Santa Fe, in Spanish Provincia Invencible de Santa Fe , is a province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco , Corrientes, Entre Ríos, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Santiago del Estero...

. As a youngster, he showed interest in boxing.

World Middleweight champion Nino Benvenuti had long had a distinguished career that included championships in 2 divisions and 2 wins in 3 bouts vs all-time great Emile Griffith

Emile Griffith

Emile Alphonse Griffith is a former boxer who was the first fighter from the U.S. Virgin Islands ever to become a world champion. He is perhaps best known for his controversial third fight with Benny Paret in 1962 for the welterweight world championship...

. He had lost the year before to American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

Tom Bethea in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, but in a title rematch in Yugoslavia

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...

, he avenged that loss.

Nobody expected Monzón to beat Benvenuti in their title match (very few knew of him). Yet Monzón applied pressure from the start, and in the 12th, a right hand landed perfectly on Benvenuti's chin, and the title changed hands. Monzón also beat Benevenuti in a rematch, this time in only three rounds in Monte Carlo

Monte Carlo

Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....

when his seconds threw in the towel.

Champion

In 1971 Monzón became only the second man to stop former three-time world champion Emile Griffith

Emile Griffith

in 14 rounds, and later out-pointed him over 15 in a close fight (before the fight Monzón had to spar three rounds and run three miles in order to make the weight). Monzón then scored a win over tough Philadelphian

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

Bennie Briscoe

"Bad" Bennie Briscoe was the quintessential Philadelphia boxer."Bad" Bennie fought from 1962 to 1982, and retired with a career record of 66 wins 24 losses and 5 draws. Briscoe was a top-rated Middleweight contender during the 1970s, unsuccessfully challenging for the World Title on three...

, over-coming a shakey 9th round, in which Briscoe almost scored a knockout; a knockout

Knockout

A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...

in five rounds over Europe

Europe

an champion Tom Bogs

Tom Bogs

Tom Bogs is a retired Danish middleweight boxer.Bogs competed for Denmark at the 1964 Summer Olympics in the light-middleweight division and reached the quarter-finals, where he lost to Nojim Maiyegun of Nigeria. Bogs turned professional shortly after the games and was active during the 1960s and...

, a knockout in seven rounds over Mexican

Mexican people

Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....

José Mantequilla Nápoles

José Napoles

José Ángel Nápoles, nicknamed Mantequilla , is a Cuban-Mexican boxer and former world welterweight champion, who is frequently ranked as one of the greatest fighters of all time in that division...

in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

and a 10 round knockout of tough Tony Licata of New Orleans at the Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...

, in what would turn out to be Monzón's only fight in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

However, a darker side of Monzón would soon begin to emerge. In 1973, Monzón was shot in the leg by his wife, requiring 7 hours of surgery to remove the bullet. In 1975, he began a very publicized romance with the famous actress and vedette Susana Giménez

Susana Giménez

Susana Giménez, née María Susana Giménez Aubert is an Argentine actress, ex-vedette and television host....

; they had previously met in the 1974 thriller La Mary
La Mary
La Mary is a 1974 Argentine film directed by Daniel Tinayre and starring Susana Giménez and Carlos Monzón. Monzón was a boxer, not a professional actor, and his poor speech skills forced producers to hire a professional actor, Luis Medina Castro, to dub Monzón's lines.- Plot :By 1930, Evaristo, a...

, directed by Daniel Tinayre

Daniel Tinayre

Daniel Tinayre was a French born Argentine film director, screenwriter and film producer....

, where the two played husband and wife. Monzón hated paparazzi who detailed his affairs. He went to Italy

Italy

with Giménez to participate in a movie, and started increasingly traveling with her to locations in Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

and the rest of Latin America

Latin America

, letting himself be seen with her, though still married.

Soon the beatings he gave his concubine became public knowledge. Monzón was detained by the police repeatedly. Giménez also began wearing sunglasses more often, presumably to hide her bruises, and many times, paparazzi had to be hospitalized from the beatings suffered at the hands of Monzón, who had unpredictable violent outbreaks. During this period, Monzón divorced his wife, and later re-married another Argentine woman.

Monzón's Middleweight championship title was lifted in 1975 by the WBC

World Boxing Council

The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...

for not defending it against mandatory challenger Rodrigo Valdez

Rodrigo Valdez

Rodrigo Valdéz is a former boxer from Colombia who was a two-time world middleweight champion and former undisputed middleweight champion of the world whose rivalry with Carlos Monzón has long been considered among the most legendary boxing rivalries. Valdez was trained by International Boxing...

. Valdez, a Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

n, then won the WBC's

World Boxing Council

title, while Monzón kept the WBA

World Boxing Association

The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...

's championship. So in 1976, they finally met, this time, world champion vs. world champion.

Valdez's brother had been shot to death one week prior to the fight and he did not feel like fighting. Still, they were under contract and so the fight took place in Monte Carlo

Monte Carlo

Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....

and Monzón handed an uninterested Valdez a beating, winning a 15 round unanimous decision and unifying the world title once again. Because of the special circumstances under which Valdez performed, an immediate rematch was ordered, once again in Monte Carlo.

This time, Valdez came out roaring. In the second round, right cross to the chin put Monzón down for the only time in his career. Valdez built a lead through the first half of the fight. Monzón, however, mounted a brilliant comeback and outboxed Valdez for the last 8 rounds, winning a unanimous decision to retain the title and score his 14th title defense.

Retirement

Monzón retired after this defense and kept a low public profile through most of the late 1970s and the 1980s. Susana Giménez left him in 1980. After the breakup, Monzón's private life was finally closed to the public, but the beatings continued, this time with his second concubine, Alicia Muñiz. In 1988, while vacationing in the resort city of Mar del Plata, he allegedly beat Muñiz so many times that she was scarred and bloody; ran to the balcony of their second floor apartment and presumably jumped. According to the investigation performed later, he followed her there, grabbed her by the neck, and then picked her up and pushed her off the balcony, to her death, after which he followed her in the fall injuring a shoulder. In 1989, he was found guilty of homicide and got 11 years in prison.

In 1995, Monzón was given a weekend furlough

Furlough

In the United States a furlough is a temporary unpaid leave of some employees due to special needs of a company, which may be due to economic conditions at the specific employer or in the economy as a whole...

while serving his prison in Santa Fe province to visit his family and children. Upon returning to jail after the weekend, he died instantly when his vehicle rolled over.

His record stands at 87 wins, only three losses, nine draws, and one no contest

No contest (boxing)

No contest is a technical term used in some combat sports to describe a fight that ends for reasons outside the fighters' hands.-Boxing:...

. Of his wins, 59 came by knockout. His only losses were by points and early in his career. In 2003, he was named by the Ring Magazine as one of the 100 greatest punchers of all time. On the independent computer-based ranking of boxrec.com

Boxrec.com

BoxRec or boxrec.com is a website dedicated to keep updated records of professional boxers, both male and female. It also maintains a mediawiki-based encyclopaedia of boxing: ....

he is listed as the third best middleweight boxer of all time, after Marvin Hagler

Marvin Hagler

Marvelous Marvin Hagler , is a former professional boxer who was undisputed world middleweight champion between 1980 and 1987. Hagler holds the distinction of having the highest KO% of all middleweight champions at 78%...

and Sugar Ray Robinson

Sugar Ray Robinson

Sugar Ray Robinson was an African-American professional boxer. Frequently cited as the greatest boxer of all time, Robinson's performances in the welterweight and middleweight divisions prompted sportswriters to create "pound for pound" rankings, where they compared fighters regardless of weight...

.

A monument to him stands in Santa Fe, Argentina

Santa Fe, Argentina

Santa Fe is the capital city of province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It sits in northeastern Argentina, near the junction of the Paraná and Salado rivers. It lies opposite the city of Paraná, to which it is linked by the Hernandarias Subfluvial Tunnel. The city is also connected by canal with the...

Professional boxing record

Colombia Rodrigo Valdéz

Rodrigo Valdez

Colombia Rodrigo Valdéz

Rodrigo Valdez

Australia Tony Mundine

Tony Mundine (boxer)

Anthony "Tony" William Mundine OAM is one of Australia's boxing legends and one of the greatest Indigenous fighters. He held the Australian middleweight, light heavyweight, cruiserweight and heavyweight titles and Commonwealth middleweight and Light heavyweight titles and is the only Australian...

Cuba José Nápoles

José Napoles

Early Modern France Jean-Claude Bouttier

Jean-Claude Bouttier

Jean-Claude Bouttier is a French actor and former European boxing champion. He has appeared in 7 films, beginning in 1981.-External links:* at IMdB...

United States Virgin Islands Emile Griffith

Emile Griffith

United States Bennie Briscoe

Bennie Briscoe

Denmark Tom Bogs

Tom Bogs

Early Modern France Jean-Claude Bouttier

Jean-Claude Bouttier

Jean-Claude Bouttier is a French actor and former European boxing champion. He has appeared in 7 films, beginning in 1981.-External links:* at IMdB...

United States Denny Moyer

Denny Moyer

Denny Moyer was an American boxer who held the world light middleweight title between 1962 and 1963. He finished his career with a 97–38–4 record.-Early life:...

United States Virgin Islands Emile Griffith

Emile Griffith

United States Bennie Briscoe

Bennie Briscoe

External links

Carlos "Escopeta" Monzón - IBHOF Biography
Sports Illustrated, August 8, 1977, Volume 47, Issue 6

|-
|-
|-

|-

|-
|-
|-

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.