Carlos Monzon vs Tony Mundine

A ten-year unbeaten run and nine completed championship defences stood behind Carlos Monzon when he returned to Luna Park before his adoring public. The middleweight champion met Australia’s Tony Mundine in Buenos Aires on October 5, 1974, and retained the WBA and Ring championships by knockout at 1 minute 20 seconds of the seventh round. It was his tenth successful defence of the recognised world title, although the WBC had recently withdrawn its recognition after a dispute over a compulsory defence against Rodrigo Valdez.

Monzon entered with a record of 82 wins, three defeats, nine draws and one no-contest. He weighed exactly 160 pounds. Mundine, 47-3-1 and weighing 159, had earned international standing through victories over Emile Griffith, Denny Moyer, Bunny Sterling and Antonio Aguilar. A fifth-round knockout defeat by Bennie Briscoe earlier in 1974 had interrupted his progress, but three subsequent victories restored him to contention. The contest was promoted by Luna Park proprietor Juan Carlos Lectoure, televised by Canal 13 and controlled by Venezuelan referee Isaac Herrera.

Mundine showed no concern for the champion’s reputation or the hostile reception. He rushed forward in the opening round, throwing a left hook and leading rights while directing his jab towards Monzon’s body. For a time he forced the champion backwards. Monzon circled patiently, studied the challenger’s approach and checked his advance with two right-hand counters midway through the round. Those punches caused Mundine to approach with greater care, though he retained the initiative.

The champion began using his long jab more insistently in the second, sometimes doubling and tripling it while adding punches to the body. Mundine moved his head well and made several jabs miss, then scored with combinations when he trapped Monzon against the ropes. His speed and aggression gave him useful moments, but Monzon was already reducing the pace and increasing the distance Mundine had to cross before he could attack.

Monzon found his proper range during the third. Instead of retreating, he circled to his left and met Mundine with the jab. About a minute into the round, he landed a five-punch combination to head and body. At close quarters, he used heavy right hands, including short blows during the clinches. In the final half-minute, a nine-punch series shook Mundine and left him taking further punishment as the bell sounded.

The fourth brought another strong finish from Monzon. His jab kept Mundine off balance before a right hand and left uppercut hurt the challenger late in the round. Mundine answered with a solid left hook before the bell, but the balance had shifted. During the fifth, Monzon backed him up for the first time and repeatedly caused his counters to fall short. Mundine was still alert and willing, though his attacks had become less frequent and were launched from increasingly poor positions.

By the sixth, Monzon no longer considered it necessary to yield ground. He advanced behind the jab and struck Mundine repeatedly with the right hand. The challenger’s early sharpness had diminished, and he appeared tired after absorbing two hard rights shortly before the bell. Monzón had established complete command of the range: when Mundine waited, he was jabbed; when he moved forward, he was caught by the right.

The conclusion followed midway through the seventh. Two right hands first stunned Mundine, after which Monzon drove him backwards and completed the attack with a jab, right cross and left hook. Mundine fell heavily and remained down while Herrera completed the count. He had made an ambitious beginning and had briefly forced the champion into retreat, but Monzón’s patient adjustment had gradually removed every advantage of speed and initiative.

The victory raised Monzon’s record to 83-3-9 and extended the unbeaten sequence which had begun after his last defeat in 1964. Mundine never received another world-title opportunity, although he later won Australian and Commonwealth honours at light-heavyweight and collected national championships across four divisions before retiring in 1984. Monzón’s suggestion that he might box only once more proved premature. He made four further successful championship defences, completing a total of 14, before retiring undefeated as champion in 1977.

Tony Mundine was a far better fighter than this result might suggest. He had beaten Emile Griffith, Denny Moyer, Bunny Sterling and Antonio Aguilar, and he possessed genuine speed and power. The knockout defeat by Bennie Briscoe was a warning about his durability, but Mundine still had enough ability to make the opening stages interesting.

I liked the way he began. He did not arrive merely to survive in front of Monzón’s own supporters. He attacked, worked towards the body and briefly forced the champion backwards. Against a lesser man, that sort of athletic aggression could have taken control of the fight. Against Monzón, it only gave the champion information.

That was Monzón’s great strength. He never appeared hurried and rarely wasted a movement. Once he had measured Mundine, he lengthened the distance with that stiff jab and began catching him with the right hand. By the fifth, Mundine was reaching for punches. By the sixth, Monzón was walking him down without showing him any respect.

The finish in the seventh was clinical. Two rights hurt Mundine before the jab, right hand and left hook put him down for the count. There was nothing wild about it. Monzón had systematically removed Mundine’s confidence, balance and escape routes. Mundine was a genuine world-class contender, but Monzón made him look ordinary once the early speed had gone. That is the mark of a truly great champion.