03.06.08 – By Joseph Boyle: Exactly thirty-five years ago today, in the tiny French principality of Monaco, two all-time greats faced each other for the second and last time. One was at the peak of his powers and the dominant force of the Middleweight division, the other was one of the greatest Welterweights of all time, with the sun setting on a glittering career. It was Emile Griffith facing ‘Escopeta’, Carlos Monzon, for the World Middleweight title..
It was a brave performance from Griffith, considering Monzon had stopped him two years previously, and giving away height and reach advantages to a champion such as Monzon makes winning an even slimmer possibility. Throw into the equation the fact that Griffith wasn’t a hard hitter, who became gun-shy to a certain extent after the tragic fight with Benny Paret, and not many Middleweights had the power to deter Monzon and his granite chin, well then it was truly a mammoth task for Griffith. Griffith ultimately couldn’t over come strength and height handicaps, and lost on a unanimous decision, although it was far from one-way traffic. He had faced a Middleweight behemoth, and survived with his held head high in defeat.
Rather than dwell on this one fight, I think a reminder of some of the highlights from these boxers’ careers is more of a fitting tribute. Names like Don Fullmer (an underrated boxer, in my opinion), the tragic Benny Paret, Dick Tiger and Nino Benvenuti are all part of boxing history. They all found Emile Griffith too good for them on at least one occasion; however all recorded a victory over the man from the U.S Virgin Islands with the exception of the great Dick Tiger.
Griffith was supremely talented, quick and able to throw combinations which stunned opponents, and he had the heart of a true champion (Rubin ‘Hurricane’ Carter and Monzon the only men to stop him). His only flaw was his lack of substantial power in his punches. Whether or not the tragedy of the Paret fight affected him has been debated many times, but this writer feels that psychologically it had to have a bearing on the rest of Griffith’s career. It speaks volumes for the man’s talent that he went on to have such an outstanding career afterwards. In the course of Emile Griffith’s career, he fought ten World champions and fought more rounds in title fights than any other boxer in history, the figure being a staggering three hundred and thirty-nine. This would equate to about seventeen hours!
One thing you can say about Carlos Monzon with a huge degree of confidence is that he didn’t lack power, in either hand. He fought with a style that made him look rather gangly, a straight-up way of fighting with a reputation for ‘pushing’ his punches. I bet Nino Benvenuti didn’t think as much when Monzon landed a right hand in the 12th round of their World Middleweight title fight. All of a sudden this unknown Argentinean was the new champion. He proved it was no fluke when he mullered Benvenuti in a rematch (I thought myself the ex-champion’s corner were hasty stepping in, but the outcome would have been the same anyway), and then defended his title thirteen more times, with Griffith (twice) and Jose Napoles among his victims.
His last bout, in my eyes, proved to be his greatest win. He was fighting a rematch with the dangerous Columbian, Rodrigo Valdez, having won a close decision first-time round. However, Valdez’s brother had been killed prior to the first fight, which affected the WBC Champion’s performance (stripped from Monzon for refusing to face Valdez two years before), and the rematch proved to be as tough a fight as Monzon ever had. In the 2nd round, the unthinkable had happened-Monzon was dropped for the first time in over ten years..
It was a perfectly timed right that put Monzon down, but no sooner was he up and gave the challenger such a look of disdain that he must have regretted his action! This great contest ebbed and flowed, both men had their moments; Monzon inflicted a lot of damage in the 12th only to damage his right hand. Valdez then had a good 13th, but Monzon incredibly started throwing big rights again in the 14th round, and won a close unanimous decision which perhaps owed to his bullying of Valdez in the early to middle rounds. It was a hell of a way to retire.
So today we have Pavlik and Mayweather as the top Welters and Middles respectively (open to debate, I know), who aren’t half bad comparisons to these two all-time greats. Now times have changed, boxing has changed accordingly, and we all know the days of greats fighting greats on a consistent basis are long gone. However, as long as boxing remains a sport, fans remain as fans, and people continue to harbour a passion for the sport, then the names of Emile Griffith and Carlos Monzon, among many others, will never be forgotten.