Before GGG-Adama and Murray-Fletcher, Monzon-Benevenuti II Was In Monte Carlo
By Robert Brizel, Head RCM Boxing Correspondent
Monte Carlo Spelugues, the casino mecca in the principality of Monaco, has been the host of an annual boxing tournament. A high class venue for a televised boxing, show, Monaco has a history of televised boxing going back to April 8, 1971. On that date, in the main event at Stade Louis II in Monte Carlo, Carlos Monzon of Argentina retained the World Middleweight title (World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association versions) with a third round stoppage of former world champion Nino Benveenuti of Italy. Benevenuti, a veteran of 90 professional bouts with 82 wins, lost his last three bouts, including his two title bouts to Monzon.
Monzon, a winner of his last 83 bouts as a professional, insisted on an Argentinian referee for the rematch. Ultimately a coin toss was agreed upon, and Monzon won. Argentinian referee Victor Avendano refereed the title bout, allowing Monzon to set the tempo.
At the conclusion of the first bout between Monzon and Benevenuti,, after Benevenuti was stopped, someone is his corner rushed into to tend to him. Monzon, a boxing psychologist inside the ring, conspired to get Benevenuti on the canvas three times, an abstract thought. If he could get Benevenuti on the canvas three times, perhaps the same panicking corner man in the Benevenuti camp would enter the ring again to stop the bout.
Monzon knocked Benevenuti down once, and pushed him to the canvas once. Upon knocking Benevenuti down a third time, the same corner man who entered the ring to rescue Benevenuti the first time threw in the towel. Benevenuti immediately kicked the towel out of the ring and wanted to continue, but as he kicked the towel out of the ring, the corner man grabbed his arms, and referee Avendano stopped the bout and gave Monzon the win. The strange televised ABC television sports ring call was provided by Howard Cosell on the ABC Wide World of Sports. Supposedly a ‘neutral’ venue, it appeared to be anything but. Monzon’s unique ability to befriend referees enabled him to ‘steal’ other of his middleweight title bouts. None of Monzon’s fights in argentina before he became champion denote who the refefee was, but in all likelihood his friend, Victor Avendano, refereed many of Monzon’s home country bouts during his meteoric rise to the top.
Monzon vs. Benevenuti II on YouTubehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig72RUWhDg4
Monzon used a straight left sucker punch over the referee’s shoulder while being separated off the break to mysteriously stop Denny Moyer in the fifth round at the Palazzzettodello Sport in Rome Italy, and retain his world middleweight title on March 4, 1972.
Monzon vs. Denny Moyer on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9Kb8LbqlYU
OsumanuAdama of Ghana is challenging Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin of Kazakhstan for the World Boxing Association super version of the world middleweight title and the International Boxing Organization version of the world middleweight title, while former Commonwealth British Empire Middleweight champion Martin Murray of the United Kingdom against former PABA and Australian Middleweight champion Jarrod Fletcher of Australia.
Adama and trainer Joseph Awinongya, along with manager WasfiTolaymat and promoter Cynthia Tolaymat, are among those traveling to the exotic locale of Monaco for the first time who are solid in the belief of its neutrality by way of rules, judges and officials.
A deeper look at the record current WBA and IBO World Middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin shows referees Jose Ignacio Martinez of Spain and Stanley Christodoulou of South Africa have refereed more than one world title bout in Golovkin’s favor, ending those world title bouts in three rounds or less for Golovkin. A thorough examination of Golovkin’s record shows Golovkin has fought 17 bouts in Germany and 18 overall in Europe, bouts in which the identity of the referees is not stated on BoxRec. There could be a number of favorable referees and judges on the European side partial to Golovkin whose identity cannot be traced.
In bouts going to the scorecards, one judge of German, gave Golovkin opponent Mehdi Bouadlaof France three rounds in September 2007 (75-79), but it appears no judge in Europe has given Golovkin opponent more rounds than that in Golovkin’s 28 bout professional career, which began in Dusseldorf, Germany in May 2006.
Trainer Awinongya won a French Welterweight title bout with his other fight Ahmed El Mousaoui on November 30, 2013, in France, so Awinongya has the ability to win with a championship caliber fighter on the road in a foreign country. Awinongya was a cruiserweight boxer from1 994 to 2005 before he beame a trainer. Awinongya fought his first nine professional bouts in Europe, the first two in Italy, the next six in The Netherlands, and the last one in Germany, before he relocated to West Palm Beach, Florida. Awinongya went undefeated in his next ten bouts, save a controversial eight round decision loss to rising Steve Cunningham in Las Vegas. Awinongya went 1-1-3 in his bouts going to a decision in Europe. Opening his career with a knockout in Italy, Awinongya got subsequently stopped in bouts in Italy and Germany.
According to Adamaps trainer, Joseph Awinongya, a decision would be unacceptable and anticipated to be unfavorable against Golovkin. “Of course we have to beat him (Golovkin) at every point and outpunch him. The best thing to do is to stop him. He’s the champion. We cannot wait for him, we have to beat him at every point.”
According to Adama’s manager, WasfiTolaymat, “I leave it up to God and the fighter’s hands. I don’t care. It’s a nice city over there. Golovkin has a special advantage as he’s the world champion already. They (the judges) would (logically) like to keep him (as champion). It’s a very competitive fight.”
According to Adama promoter Cynthia Tolaymat, “Golovkin is a great fighter. Idon’t thinkit matters if Adama does what he’s supposed to do andhas a great performance. If Adama knocks down Golovkin, people will take notice of it. Golovkin has knocked out his last 14 opponents. Hypothetically, if a fighter gets knocked out in the first round, everybody is going to laugh. When Vivian Harris (our welterweight fighter and former WBA World Welterweight champion) beat 23-1 Danny O’Connor in his hometown of Philadelphia last October, Harris did what he was supposed to do so the hometown advantage didn’t make a difference. Even if Adama(just) goes the distance and goes all 12 rounds with Golovkin, and puts on a great performance, people are going to take notice of him. It’s going to be a very competitive fight, and let’s hope for the best. The judges are going to be appointed by the WBA and the IBO. You only have to put it on them to be fair or not to be fair. If a fighter does what he’s supposed to do, it wouldn’t matter.”
In November 1970, in Monte Carlo, Monaco,,Carlos Monzon had the benefit of winning the world middleweight title with an inexperienced referee, Rudolf Drust of Germany, in the ring. Durst appeared in only ten professional bouts between 1960 and 1976, three of them WBC and WBA world title bouts, and five of them European title bouts. Two years later, in June 1972, Durst, in his next refereed bout, mysteriously reappearing in a Monzon world title bout again (Monzon obviously was in favor of this) was the only one scoring the bout between Carlos Monzon and Jean-Claude Bouttier two years later in Paris, France. Durst had Monzon ahead 12 rounds to none when Bouttier failed to answer the bell for the thirteenth round. How the inexperienced Durst ever qualified to referee these important bouts, including the two world title bouts with Monzon, with only ten refereed bouts total in ten years, speaks for something strange in the political world of boxing.
One can only hope the ten fighters schedule to boxer on the Monte Carlo card on February 1, 2014, will receive a fair deal. Gennady Golovkin will be making the tenth defense of his version of the world middleweight title against Adama in the main event of the ESPN televised card.Golovkin won the WBA World Middleweight title with a knockout victory of Milton Nunez of Columbia in 2010. Either middleweight contender Sergio ‘The Latin Snake’ Mora of California (who knocked out Nunez last month in his last ring appearance) or Marco Antonio ‘El Veneno’ Rubio of Mexico (who knocked out Dionisio Miranda in July) could be in line to face the winner of Adama versus Golovkin, or Murray versus Fletcher, depending on the outcomes of the important middleweight bouts in Monte Carlo.
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