Carlos Monzon vs Tom Bogs

Carlos Monzon retained the undisputed world middleweight championship by stopping Denmark’s Tom Bogs in the fifth round at Copenhagen’s Idrætsparken on August 19, 1972. The finish came at 2 minutes 30 seconds after Bogs had been knocked down three times, bringing a sudden end to a contest in which the challenger had briefly threatened to place the champion in serious difficulty.

The bout was Monzon’s fifth defence of the World Boxing Association and World Boxing Council titles he had taken from Nino Benvenuti in Rome in November 1970. Promoter Mogens Palle brought the champion to Denmark to meet one of the country’s most popular athletes. Bogs, a former European champion at middleweight and light-heavyweight, had won 63 of his 68 professional contests and had never been stopped. He had also defeated Antonio Aguilar, who had beaten Monzon during the Argentine’s formative years, and Juarez De Lima, a capable Brazilian with victories over Bennie Briscoe and Jean-Claude Bouttier. Monzon weighed 159 pounds and Bogs 160, each comfortably within the middleweight limit.

Bogs began with the confidence expected of a man fighting before his own public. He moved neatly, kept his punches compact and attempted to prevent Monzon from establishing the slow, measured command upon which the champion’s boxing depended. Monzon was in no haste. Standing tall behind his long left, he watched Bogs carefully and sought to measure the distance for his straight right. The Dane was the busier of the two in the early stages, but Monzon’s economy gave him an appearance of control even when he was not throwing freely.

The pattern continued through the second and third rounds. Bogs boxed with discipline, moving away after delivering his punches and refusing to remain directly in front of the champion. Monzon followed without wasting movement, using the jab to disturb Bogs’ rhythm and gradually shortening the ring. There was little recklessness in the Argentine’s work. He was prepared to concede the occasional scoring blow while determining when Bogs would move and where he would be when the right hand was released.

Bogs achieved his greatest success in the fourth round. A punch opened a serious cut beside Monzon’s left eye, and the sight of blood encouraged both the challenger and the Copenhagen crowd. For the first time the champion faced a problem which could not be dealt with at leisure. Bogs attempted to work upon the injury, while referee Harry Gibbs watched it closely. A prolonged contest would have allowed the Dane to worsen the damage and might eventually have obliged Gibbs to consult the ringside doctor. Monzon returned to his corner with the championship unexpectedly placed under some threat.

His response in the fifth was decisive. Monzon abandoned much of his earlier restraint and drove Bogs backwards with a succession of right hands. Six rights arrived during the opening assault, forcing the challenger out of his measured boxing and into a retreat for which he had little answer. The first knockdown followed from a right to the head. Bogs rose, but he had lost the sharpness in his legs and could no longer escape Monzon’s advance.

The champion allowed him no recovery. Another series of straight rights and shorter punches sent Bogs down for the second time. The Dane regained his feet again, showing courage but little ability to defend himself effectively. Monzon remained composed, stepping into range without smothering his work and directing his punches accurately rather than swinging in pursuit of a spectacular finish. A final attack put Bogs on the canvas for the third time. Gibbs intervened during the count and stopped the contest at 2 minutes 30 seconds.

It was Bogs’ first defeat inside the distance in 69 professional bouts and Monzon’s eleventh successive victory by stoppage. The champion’s record advanced to 77 wins, three defeats and nine draws, with 55 victories by knockout, and his unbeaten run entered its ninth year. More significantly, the performance demonstrated the quality which had already separated him from the other leading middleweights. Bogs had boxed soundly and had inflicted an injury capable of changing the course of the contest, but Monzon recognised the danger and removed it within a single round. The cut had made haste necessary; the champion’s right hand ensured that five rounds were sufficient.

Tom Bogs was no manufactured challenger. He had been European champion at middleweight and light-heavyweight, boxed in the Olympics and had never been stopped in 68 professional contests. Fighting before his own Copenhagen crowd, he had the ability and popularity to make this a genuine event.

For four rounds, Bogs boxed intelligently and even opened a nasty cut beside Carlos Monzon’s left eye. That was his success, but it was also his mistake. Monzon understood that the injury could cost him the title and immediately changed gear.

What followed in the fifth was the difference between a fine European champion and an all-time great. Monzon drove Bogs backwards with repeated straight rights, putting him down three times before Harry Gibbs stopped it. There was no wasted movement and no wild swinging. Monzon found the range and dismantled him. Bogs was brave and capable, but once Monzon applied real pressure, he had nowhere to go.