The Top 100 Greatest Boxers Pound per Pound of All-Time

[elmersalsa]

Round one began and you can see the classy Mantequilla moving beautifully from side to side against his opponent.

The challenger, Ralph Charles is boxing instead of attacking the champion. He is using the classic British boxing style by jabbing and moving out of the way.

In round 2, Mantequilla was the aggressor and had some punches in from the running Charles. Rounds 3 and 4, I saw it kind of even. Not much action by the challenger. Mantequilla was carrying the fight.

I round 5, Mantequilla opened up again by scoring some lefts and rights. A thing of beauty. He looked better than when he fought Hedgemon Lewis 3 months earlier in December 1971.

Charles didn't stayed behind and scored some shots to Mantequilla's face of his own. He was trying to frustrate the champion by boxing sticking and moving. In round 6, it was a good round for the challenger when he hit Mantequilla with good right leads a couple of times. The crowd at the Empire Pool of Wembley, roared for the local Charles. He won that round.

It was about an even fight by round 7. Mantequilla had a slight lead in my scorecard. Then, he opened up and had the challenger Charles in trouble. Charles was hurt and was retreating from further punishment. A right and a left to the jaw at ring center from Mantequilla, sends Charles to the canvas. Charles tries to get up, but it was useless. He got knocked out.

Mantequilla successfully defended his Welterweight Crown by a seventh round stoppage. It was Mantequilla's second title defense since regaining it on June 1971. It was his sixth title defense overall.

The winner by knockout in the 7th round and still the Welterweight Champion of the World!.....Jose "Mantequilla" Napoles!

Napoles improves to 72-5, with 47 knockouts!

[elmersalsa]

This was also Ralph Charles' last professional boxing match. He was British and European Welterweight Champion. He could not bring the world crown to England since the great Ted "Kid" Lewis in 1919, about 53 years ago.

Charles retired with a record of 39-4, with 33 knockouts.

[elmersalsa]

Next for Mantequilla? Was the challenge of an old victim seven years back in December 1965. His name was Adolph Pruitt of St Louis, MO, born in Aberdeen, MS.

In their first meeting, Napoles won by a third round technical knockout due to a dislocated shoulder on Pruitt. The fight was in Mexico City, Mexico.

Adolph Pruitt, a seasoned veteran, started his career in 1961. Since then, he had a lot of ups and downs. Before losing to Napoles in their first meeting, Pruitt was in a 14-fight unbeaten streak, winning 9 fights in a row from May 1964 to October 1965.

Along the ride to challenge for the world title, he faced future world champions and top contenders like Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez (W10), Eddie Perkins (L10 twice),
Pedro Adigue (L15 and WTKO5), Rene Barrientos (WTKO7), future champ and undefeated Oscar Albarado (W10), Nicolino Locche (L10), Hedgemon Lewis (W10), Lion Furiyama (W10), and Raul Soriano (LTKO6 and WTKO5). So, the guy have a pretty good resume.

At 32, he was as the same age as the champion. Pruitt came with a record of 46-10-2 with 31 knockouts. The man had some pep in his punches.

The fight was set on Saturday, June 10, 1972 at the Plaza de Toros Monumental in Monterrey, Mexico. It was Napoles' 5th title defense.

Pruitt carried the fight to Mantequilla Napoles. He had a Bob and weave style reminiscing the great Henry Armstrong. But, it was detrimental. Mantequilla, a great counter puncher master was killing Pruitt. Right, lefts and uppercuts did the damage in round 2 and the referee, Octavio Meyran of Mexico, stopped the contest. Mantequilla proved to be better all the way and his first win over Pruitt was not a fluke.

The winner by second round technical knockout and still the World Welterweight Champion......Jose "Mantequilla" Napoles!

Napoles improves to 73-5, with 48 knockouts!

[elmersalsa]

Adolph Pruitt drops to 46-11-2 with 31 knockouts. In his next and last fight in December 1972, he fought Armando "Mando" Muniz, a top and rising contender from Los Angeles, CA.

The fight was for the North American Boxing Federation Welterweight Title. Muniz knocked him out in 8 rounds. Pruitt retired after the fight at age 33.

[elmersalsa]

Mantequilla accepted the challenge of top welterweight contender Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez of Los Angeles, CA once more at the famous Forum of Inglewood, CA on the date of Wednesday, February 28, 1973.

In their first fight, Lopez fought a valiant fight against the champion, one of the all time best at the welterweight division. Napoles in a dramatic finish, stopped Indian Red in the last round on Valentine's Day 1970.

Since losing to Mantequilla on that fateful night, Lopez kept busy, fighting 12 times and losing twice to one man. That man was former three-time Welterweight World Champion, the great Emile Griffith of the Virgin Islands. Lopez's record was 10-2, with 6 knockouts in those 3 years. His biggest win on that time frame was a points win in 10 rounds against future World Super Welterweight Champion Oscar Albarado of Texas.

This was Mantequilla's 4th title defense since regaining it from Billy Backus in 1971. Eight overall.

The bell rang and Mantequilla like always, was carrying the fight. He is a fast starter, but a scientific boxer that knows where and when, to turn the heat on.

It was an even fight. Lopez had his moments. He cut Napoles with a right hand in the 3rd round. The boxers exchanged rounds back and forth. In round 5, Mantequilla had Indian Red in trouble, but the bell saved the Californian.

Round six was a good one for Lopez. He scored at will, especially with that right lead. It's a fight going on.

But, in an exchange of blows in round 7, Mantequilla gave the better of it finishing Lopez with a left and a beautiful right uppercut. Lopez went down to the canvas. The referee, Dick Young of Los Angeles counted to ten and the winner by knockout in round seven and still the Welterweight Champion of the World!....Jose "
Mantequilla" Napoles!

As concerned of his opponent's well being, Napoles rushed to Lopez's to see if he was okay. Lopez was still lying down on the canvas attended by his cornermen. It seems that Lopez was okay.

Napoles improves to 75-5 with 50 knockouts! He is one of the few fighters in history to record more than 50 knockouts in the ring.

As for Indian Red? He fought twice more, losing to top contender Mando Muniz of Los Angeles and future champion John H. Stracey of England. Both losses were by knockout in 7 rounds.

Lopez retired after those three losses at age 29 with a record of 49-11-1 with 25 knockouts.

[elmersalsa]

The question was, who is Roger Menetrey? Well, ask the French that question. Menetrey, 28, of France, on paper seemed to have a pretty good resume, and was hyped on Europe and France as one of the best boxers in the welterweight class.

With a good and respectable record of 49-4-1 with 41 knockouts, it seems that the guy can hit and was not a flash in the pan. He has 54 professional fights so far. Should be ready for a title shot.

Menetrey had a 28-fight unbeaten streak from May 1968 to March 1970. In that span, he scored 24 knockouts!

Menetrey won the French Welterweight Crown by knocking out countryman and top contender Jean Josselin in July 1969 in six rounds. Josselin was also a Jose "Mantequilla" Napoles victim in 1971.

Menetrey avenged his loss against former Jr Welterweight World Champion Sandro Lopopolo of Italy in the rematch in a defense of the European Welterweight Crown in December 1972 in 13 grueling rounds. Menetrey won the European Welterweight Crown by stopping another Napoles' victim, Ralph Charles of England, in 7 rounds in June 1971.

Among other notable wins, Menetrey beat Angel Robinson Garcia of Cuba by decision in 10 rounds. He also had wins over Silvano Bertini of Italy (WTKO13) and undefeated Jorgen Hansen of Denmark (WKO10).

Is that good enough to challenge the champion Mantequilla Napoles?

[elmersalsa]

The great Jose "Mantequilla" Napoles, the World's Welterweight Champion accepted the fight with challenger Roger Menetrey of Aussence, France.

Napoles was lured to come to France for a $120,000 dollar payday. We're noticing that at this point in time, he is going world wide. He is going international.

At 33 years of age, he ages better like fine wine. By looking at his fight videos since 1969, he seems that he slipped a bit. But the experience and craftiness is still there. He could box and punch with the best of them. He is the king of the Welterweights. What a champion!

This is Mantequilla's 5th title defense of the welterweight crown, since regaining it from Billy Backus in June 1971. (9th overall). It's gonna take a real great boxer to dethrone him.

There's no video of this fight on YouTube, but the reports say that Mantequilla was way superior than the European champion. It seems that Mantequilla won every round. He outclassed the Frenchman on his own turf on the date of Saturday night of June 23, 1973 at the Palais des Sports in Grenoble, France.

Mantequilla had Menetrey in trouble in the second and eleventh rounds. He almost got Menetrey out in the 11th. Mantequilla won by unanimous decision and improves to 76-5, with 50 knockouts.

As for Menetrey, the following year in 1974, he beat in March of that year Billy Backus of Canastota, NY by decision in 12 rounds. But, in May, two months later, he lost by knockout in 8 rounds and the European Welterweight Crown to future World Welterweight Champion John H. Stracey of England.

[elmersalsa]

Now is the challenge of Clyde Gray of Toronto, Canada to try to dethrone the aging World Welterweight Champion Jose "Mantequilla" Napoles of Cuba but resident for a long time in Mexico City, Mexico, his adopted country since 1962.

Mantequilla was lured again for $120,000 dollars to go to defend his crown at The Maple Leafs Gardens in Toronto, Canada.

Gray, a black fighter of 28 years of age, is the Canadian and British Empire Welterweight Champion. A good boxer with a terrific left hook, has a record of 40-2-1, with 26 knockouts.

The fight was set on Saturday, September 22, 1973. To our surprise, former Heavyweight World Champion at the time, the great Muhammad Ali of Louisville, KY, made the fighters' introduction for the delight of the crowd. Always entertaining, Ali, didn't disappoint.

The challenger Gray had a good ring fistic history. For starters, he won his first 21 professional bouts starting his career in 1968. His first pro loss was also against another of Mantequilla's victims, former Jr Welterweight World Champion Eddie Perkins of Chicago, IL. Gray lost to Perkins by decision in 10 rounds in April 1970.

Gray rebounded from that early loss and went unbeaten in his next 9 fights, winning 8 straight by knockout. But, in November 1971, he was stopped in 9 rounds by young and undefeated rising star contender from Los Angeles, CA Armando "The Man" Muniz for the North American Boxing Federation Welterweight Title.

But, after that loss to Muniz, Gray won 11 straight fights, including the Canadian Welterweight Crown on January 1972 and the Commonwealth Welterweight Crown in February 1973.

The bell rang and Mantequilla took the inniciative. He lost the second round in my view, but from the third round, he dominated the contests with crisp and sharp combinations. In round 5, a left hook and a right cross sent Gray to the canvas.

Mantequilla was the master in this fight. Especially from the mid and close range exchanges. It was the master at work. Who could beat him that day? Difficult to say. Mantequilla was on point. He comfortably won the fight, even though, Gray, who didn't disappoint, gave a good account of himself.

Mantequilla won by majority decision at first, but then it was changed to unanimous decision. He clearly dominated the Canadian.

Mantequilla improves to 77-5, with 50 knockouts. It was his third fight of the year 1973, all of them outside of Mexico City. And it was also his 6th title defense of the welter crown, tenth overall.

[elmersalsa]

As for Clyde Gray, he dropped off to 40-3-1 with 26 knockouts. He kept on fighting on and had two unsuccessful tries for the WBA World Welterweight Title losing to Angel Espada of Puerto Rico on June 1975 by decision in 15 rounds and was seriously crushed in August 1977 by champion Pipino Cuevas of Mexico in only two rounds.

Gray retired in the year 1980.

[elmersalsa]

The great Jose "Mantequilla" Napoles, of Cuba, but made Mexico his home since 1962, is now enjoying the fruits of his boxing career and cherished the moment every minute of it.

He remembers the times that he had to leave Cuba and become an exile because his country's government abolished professional boxing. He also remembers the times when he was fighting anybody and everyone for peanuts in Mexico City bullrings. Not to mention the times in the middle of the 1960s decade when he was ducked by the top fighters in the world and was denied title shots. Mantequilla remembers that he had over 60 fights and at 29 years old, many considered that he was too old to fight for world championship.

It took a cagey veteran like Curtis Cokes of Dallas, TX to give Mantequilla the desired opportunity. And the rest was history. Mantequilla became a cultural icon in Mexico. Became a Mexican citizen, and the Mexicans claimed him as one of their own. Mantequilla love Mexico and the country loves him back with same fervor. What a fighter!

Mantequilla at 33, was having the time of his life. He was getting everything that he ever wanted. The only thing that he couldn't do was to see his folks and family in his Communist country.

The year 1973 was another good year for Mantequilla. He wasn't fighting as much. But at least he defended the title 3 times that year. Was he cutting up his fighting schedule, in which he used to sometimes fight six times a year? Maybe. A guy with so many fights like he has deserves some breaks.

At Welterweight, he is the King! Nobody could beat him. Name a boxer in the top 10 that is not named Mando Muniz, and he has already beaten him. The king of the Welterweights has 10 title defenses overall. Six of those title defenses were after he became champion the second time against Billy Backus of Canastota, NY.

And now, Mantequilla since 1972, has been looking for big paydays. Enough about those early and humble beginnings when he was fighting for peanuts in those bull rings. Now is showtime! The Big time! He has grossed about $400,000 dollars in the last couple of fights now, travelling overseas.

A fight with ranked contenders won't be any good only if the fight is overseas or in the other side of the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean to say the least. He had already beaten every single mandatory contender. Sometimes twice.

And now is time to match him in a super fight with champions of other weight classifications. Super fights that the world would want to see. The fans want him to square up with the other great fighters. To fight the world's best.

Well, for starters, how about a super fight against WBA World Lightweight Champion, the great Roberto Duran of Panama? That would draw a lot of butts in the seats no matter the venue. Is the best against the best. That would be a very lucrative match. Maybe a $200,000 dollar payday for Mantequilla. It depends who is the bigger draw.

Or how about a match against another champion: WBA World Jr Welterweight Champion Antonio Cervantes, Kid Pambele of Colombia? That could be another blockbuster fight for both fighters. Like Duran, Kid Pambele could give Mantequilla lots of problems. But, at the end of the day, none of the two fights got materialized.

Definitely it would not be great for Mantequilla to challenge World Jr Middleweight Champion Oscar Albarado of Texas. It won't do him any good. There's no big money by fighting Albarado. Plus, Albarado had lost to a couple of Mantequilla's victims like Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez and Hedgemon Lewis.

Well, how about jumping 13 pounds over and challenge the great Carlos Monzon of Argentina for King Carlos' World Middleweight Title? That would be a great matchup. The speed and power of Napoles against the big and strong champion. The Big great fish, fighting the smaller great one. And this fight, abroad overseas, it would be very lucrative. In a place like Paris or Monte Carlo, this fight is a natural. A fantastic fight. The winner could somehow claim that he is the best on the world

[APerno]

Didn't Monzon stop Napoles in six rounds for the middle weight title in France, in 1974?

[elmersalsa]

Didn't Monzon stop Napoles in six rounds for the middle weight title in France, in 1974?

Yes.

The great Jose "Mantequilla" Napoles of Mexico City, Mexico via Santiago, Cuba made the biggest step of his career by challenging the great Carlos Monzon of Argentina for Monzon's World Middleweight Title.

The fight was set on Saturday, February 9, 1974 at Puteaux, France. It was a challenge for Mantequilla, due that at welterweight, he didn't have no equals. He was the master at the 147lbs class. Now, for the biggest fight and payday of his career, Mantequilla challenges Monzon for the middleweight crown.

Mantequilla was still 33 years old. Monzon was 30. It was very courageous for Mantequilla to challenge someone bigger, stronger, taller, younger and in his complete prime like Monzon.

For many American boxing fans, Monzon wasn't known in the boxing world like their own Muhammad Ali or George Foreman, top American heavyweights that were known all over the world. Monzon for starters, up to that point, has never fought in the United States. Mostly all of his fights were in Argentina or in Europe.

Monzon won the World Middleweight Title by a stunning 12th round knockout against popular Nino Benvenutti of Italy in November 1970. After defeating Benvenutti, King Carlos became a hero in Argentina. He was only rivaled in boxing in his country by the other great former champion, Nicolino Locche, the WBA World Jr Welterweight Champion.

When Locche lost his crown to Alfonso "Peppermint" Frazer of Panama, then Monzon became the absolute Numero uno boxing hero of the Argentine country.

Tall, handsome, rough, and tough with movie star looks, was also a womanizer that hang out with the most famous prettiest women and actresses around.

By 1974, Monzon had already the record of most world title defenses in the middleweight class with 8. In his title reign, Monzon has already dispatched world class fighters like Benvenutti in the rematch (WTKO3), the great Emile Griffith of the US Virgin Islands twice(WTKO14 and W15), Denny Moyer of Portland, OR (WTKO5), "Bad" Bennie Briscoe of Philadelphia, PA in the rematch (W15) and beat top contenders like Jean Claude Bouttiere of France (W15) and Tom Bogs of Denmark (WTKO5).

King Carlos was known also as "The Indian" because of his ethnicity background and "The Shotgun" because of his tremendous punching power. The guy could hit. And yes, he can put you to sleep. From September 1970 to August 1972, Monzon had 11 fights in a row won by knockout!

Monzon at the time had an extraordinary record of 81-3-9 with 57 knockouts! He avenged all of his 3 losses, some of them beating them twice.

A professional since 1963, has not lost a fight since October 1964. Almost ten years! And is unbeaten in his last 74 fights! To top that, the champion is on a hot 25-fight win streak since June 1969.

The champion was really on top and peak of his powers.

[elmersalsa]

It was a fight between two of The Ring Magazine's Fighter of the Year Award winners. Jose "Mantequilla" Napoles won the award in 1969. Being the first Latin or Hispanic boxer to win the award.

Carlos Monzon won the award in 1972, co-winner with the great Muhammad Ali. Monzon was the second Latino boxer in history to win the award.

Among common rivals, both beat the great Emile Griffith in title bouts. Monzon beat Griffith twice.

Monzon had the reach and height advantage over Mantequilla. Monzon's reach was 76" to Mantequilla's 72". Mantequilla was listed at 5'71/2". King Carlos was listed at 5'11". Maybe close to 6'1". But it was a very abismal the height and reach advantages of the champion. Plus, Mantequilla just came to the scales at 153lbs. Monzon was at 159lbs.

Should have Mantequilla had two or three tune up fights at 160lbs before challenging the champion?

The arena was filled about 74,000 fans. Some of them were famous top French actors and celebrities on hand.

Round one began, and Mantequilla, a fast starter, came right at the champion Monzon with some speedy combinations. Did the speed befuddled the champion in the first round? Not much. Monzon, a slow starter, used the first round to study Mantequilla. But Mantequilla, clearly at least, from the view of this observer, won the first round.

But from round 2 and on, it was all King Carlos! Mantequilla tried many times to get close and tried to penetrate the reach advantages of the champion. The champion wouldn't let him. Everytime Mantequilla rushed in, Monzon either tied him up or blocked with his long arms out of danger moving backwards.

The real damage started in the 5th round. Monzon rocked Mantequilla with a right uppercut that put the welterweight king's head backwards. And a barrage of lefts and rights were on target on Mantequilla's face. It was a massacre that when the round ended, Mantequilla wobbled back to his corner. He is in bad shape! How bad? Real bad! Never seen Mantequilla in trouble of that kind. He really got a shellacking. It was the beginning of the end.

In round six, sensing that he had the fight under control, Monzon opened up with right leads to Mantequilla's head. Mantequilla's head was like a pinball and Monzon's right the bowling ball. Uppercuts, rights and lefts opened a cut in Mantequilla's eye. That wasn't new for Mantequilla. He was known of getting cut. But not in this fashion.

Monzon proved his superiority against the smaller Napoles. By round six going to the seventh, Mantequilla's cornermen, lead by the legendary American trainer Angelo Dundee, said that it was enough! Mantequilla dejected, didn't come out for more punishment. So it was well stopped. No shame in that. He lost to a great great champion. And it wasn't his weight class either.

It was party time in Argentina. Their hero won again for the 26th consecutive time, and is unbeaten in his last 75 fights! What a fighter is Carlos Monzon!

The winner by technical knockout in the 6th round and still the Middleweight Champion of the World!.....Carlos Monzon of Argentina!

[elmersalsa]

What's next for the great Jose "Mantequilla" Napoles? Will he keep boxing and defending his welterweight crown or move up to the middleweight class?

Well, in my view, at 33, going on for 34, Mantequilla does not had nothing to do at that weight class of 160lbs. It was too much for him. Let alone ask for a rematch against this formidable champion like Carlos Monzon. Monzon proved in his 9th defense why he's one of the greatest fighters of the middleweight class in boxing history.

The guy Monzon proved that a big great fighter beats the smaller great fighter cliche. And indeed, he was too big for Napoles. At least Mantequilla got a huge payday for this super fight. That's the only consolation. The other consolation was that he lost outright against one of the best fighters of the decade and entire world. An all time great that with the win, Monzon got measured and compared with the likes of Sugar Ray Robinson, Harry Greb, Jake LaMotta, Marcel Cerdan, Stanley Ketchel, Dick Tiger, Gene Fullmer and Tony Zale among other middleweight greats. Is Monzon the best of the bunch? I would say yes! A big yes! There hasn't been a middleweight with that reach and height and ring IQ in that division in years. A extremely cool tactician that knew how to use his physical gifts.

As for Mantequilla, he was sent back to the Welterweights. That's were he belongs. He drops his record, still a good one to 77-6, with 50 knockouts.

Monzon at 31, improves to 82-3-9 with 58 knockouts!

Monzon retired undefeated champion in 1977 with 14 title defenses of the middleweight crown. A record at the time. And finished with a record of 89-3-9, with 61 knockouts.

Monzon, like Mantequilla, were inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, NY in 1990.

[elmersalsa]

The great Jose "Mantequilla" Napoles, at 34 years of age, has not given up on the thought of retirement. Even though 34 is an age that most boxers have been retired, is not on his thoughts quite yet. Even after the thrashing given by the great Carlos Monzon in February 1974 does not make him fazed a retirement from the sport of boxing at all.

But, at this point in time, what is there for him? A rematch with Monzon? You can forget about that. Monzon was too big for him. What about luring WBA World Jr Welterweight Champion, Antonio Cervantes Kid Pambele of Colombia for a super fight? Or lure the great Roberto Duran, the then World Lightweight Champion from Panama?

Those two could be some great lucrative matches. The question were the negotiations. Are Cervantes or Duran, willing to come up to Welterweight and challenge Mantequilla? That's a good question.

But, first things first, and Mantequilla had a mandatory defense against former victim NY World Welterweight Champion Hedgemon Lewis of Detroit, MI. Say what? The king of the Welterweights got an equal? How that's so?

Lewis, after losing to Mantequilla in that close fight in December 1971 at the Inglewood Forum, won 11 fights in a row since. And since then, in June 1972, he decisioned former champion Billy Backus of Canastota, NY in 15 stanzas. Lewis again beat Backus in December of same year by decision. Both fights were at the War Memorial Auditorium in Syracuse, NY.

Another big win for Lewis was on December 1973 against top contender Johnny Gant of Washington, DC by decision in 10 rounds.

With a record of 51-4, with 26 knockouts, Lewis travels to Mantequilla's home turf of Mexico City. The fight was done for Saturday, August 3rd, 1974 at El Palacio de los Deportes.

It was a technical fight of great skill. Lewis used well the left jab. It was as close as their first meeting in my view, but, Mantequilla having the lead. Mantequilla looked slower than the original contest they had 3 years ago. I meant, slow of feet. Because with his hands, Mantequilla possessed the same speed.

Mantequilla, proved again that he's the king of the Welterweight class. He was always better in rematches. And this is the 10th time that he proved to be the better man the second time around. He unleashed a serious of bad intent combinations of lefts and rights in the 9th round that Mexican referee, Ramon Berumen, had to take Mantequilla off from Lewis from further punishment. At this point in time, Lewis had beaten 14 Mexican boxers!

The winner by TKO in round 9 and still the Welterweight World Champion, Jose "Mantequilla" Napoles!

It was indeed one of Napoles' best performances. Mantequilla improves to 77-6, 53KOs

[elmersalsa]

As for Hedgemon Lewis, he had 5 more fights after losing to Mantequilla Napoles the second time. In December 1974, he lost by decision in 10 rounds to upcoming rising star contender Armando "The Man" Muniz of Los Angeles, CA.

Then, Lewis had back to back decision wins against Rafael Rodriguez of Minneapolis, MN and then back to back draws in ten rounds to future WBC World Welterweight Champion Carlos Palomino of Los Angeles and contender Harold Weston, from New York.

On March 1976, Lewis had his third and last chance of becoming world champion when he lost to future WBC World Champion John H. Stracey of England. Stracey stopped Lewis in 6 rounds. Lewis retired after the fight.

[elmersalsa]

I don't know if it was revenge or what. The great Jose "Mantequilla" Napoles has another title defense for the World Welterweight Crown against Carlos Monzon's countryman Horacio Saldaño. It's Mexico versus Argentina in boxing once again.

By now, Argentina is up 1-0. Would Saldaño make it 2-0 in favor of Argentina? Napoles didn't forgot that awful beating given by Monzon. Has he mentally recovered from it? Perhaps.

Saldaño of 27 years of age, was a short and stocky contender that came to Mexico City, Mexico with a record of 51-4-9 with 30 knockouts. He has been a professional since February 1965. Among his highlights, he started unbeaten in 52 professional bouts, winning his first 16. He doesn't have a fighter in his record of world class pedigree. So, how did he receive a title shot by Mantequilla's crown. I have no idea. His first defeat was a twelve round decision in July 1971 against Ramon De La Cruz for Argentina Welterweight Crown.

He has also been stopped once in his career in September 1974 against countryman Mario Guilloti.

Well, I don't know if it was Mantequilla's time for revenge, but he received $150,000 dollars for this bout. Saldaño received only $25,000 dollars for a bl

[elmersalsa]

Rumours had it, at least in the Argentinian boxing circles, that the challenger, Horacio Saldaño of Tucuman, Argentina had an injury in his right shoulder. Then, why he stepped into the ring against one of the best fighters in the world at the time? We don't know. It could be like Deon Sanders said "It must be the money".

Or it must be his only chance for him to a title shot. That's why, Saldaño, at 27 years of age, took the fight. And it was also Saturday, December 14, 1974. Christmas is around the corner. And gifts had to be made. Right?

This was Jose "Mantequilla" Napoles' third and last fight of the year 1974. He won't forget never in his life, the beating that he took against middleweight king Carlos Monzon, Saldaño's countryman, in Paris, France, on that fateful night of Saturday, February 9th of same year.

If you see the fight closely, which was set at El Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City, Mexico that Saldaño barely throws the right hand. It was seen as a mismatch from the beginning of the contest. Mantequilla looked superior all the way.

In round 3, after a serious pounding of lefts and rights, Saldaño goes down at the end of a Mantequilla's left hook. The referee counted to ten, and the winner by knockout in round 3 and still the Welterweight Champion of the World!.......Jose "Mantequilla" Napoles!

It was one of Mantequilla's easiest wins. Could it be the Saldaño's right shoulder was injured as the rumours say?

Napoles at 34, is the king of the Welterweights. He motioned with the fist to Tito Lecture, Monzon's and Saldaño's manager as to say, "Monzon is next!" or "there's your fighter! In the floor". Was he still hurt by the defeat and beating that Monzon gave him in Paris?

It was the last recorded knockout win of Napoles' career. He improves to 79-6, with 54 knockouts.

[elmersalsa]

The year 1975 in boxing saw the WBA World Welterweight title stripped from the great Jose "Mantequilla" Napoles of Mexico City via Santiago, Cuba.

Now, Napoles is the Linear Welterweight and WBC Welterweight Champion of the World. At age 34, he is in the next title defense, his 13th overall and 9th since regaining the title from Billy Backus of Canastota, NY in June 1971. He has been champion for 6 years. The king of the Welterweights!

Having beaten the top contenders of his crown, there was one that was missing. A crowd-pleasing Southern California star that the fans loved very much. His name? Armando "The Man" Muñiz of Los Angeles, CA.

And what's not to like about The Man? Well, first, he was a crowd pleaser that came to fight and gave everything he had. He was cordial, respectable citizen that did everything right. Born in Chihuahua, Mexico in 1946, moved with his family at age 5 to Los Angeles. He represented the Olympic Boxing Team for the United States in 1968. He served the US Army. And for the delight of many, became a college graduate.

The Man was tough, rough and handsome. A decent fellow with lots of class. That's why the fight fans loved him. He was ready to rumble against the best of his era anywhere, anytime at any cost. A true real warrior. An American dream.

He came to Mexico to fight for Mantequilla's crown on Saturday, March 29, 1975 at Acapulco's Centro Intetnacional. At 28, he had already a record of 36-8-1 with 24 knockouts. But, don't let that record fool you by any means. When you fight the very best fighters of your weight class, you are expected to lose some fights and win some big ones.

Muñiz started unbeaten in his first 16 fights, winning 15 of them. The draw was against future World Jr Middleweight Champion Oscar "Shotgun" Albarado of Uvalde, TX in a slugfest for the ages in ten rounds.

The Man's first loss of his career was against the great triple crown division champion Emile Griffith of the US Virgin Islands by decision in 10 rounds in January 1972.

In December 1971, Muñiz beat future Canadian and British Empire Welterweight Champion Clyde Gray by knockout, winning the North American Boxing Federation Welterweight Championship.

Among other highlights, he beat future top middleweight contender Bobby Watts of Philadelphia, PA by decision in 10 rounds. Was this Watts the one that beat the future great World Middleweight Champion Marvelous Marvin Hagler? Yes, indeed! Watts was the first man ever to beat Marvelous. Muñiz beat Watts when he only had 5 fights in 1970. Muñiz also beat Chucho Garcia of Mexico (W10), Adolph Pruitt of St Louis, MO (WTKO8), Manuel Gonzalez of Odessa, TX (W10), Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez of Los Angeles (WTKO7) and former NY World Welterweight Champion Hedgemon Lewis of Detroit, MI by decision in 10 rounds. The Lewis win gave The Man the deserved shot at Mantequilla's crown.

[elmersalsa]

It was a packed house at Acapulco's Centro Intetnacional venue. Mantequilla Napoles, of Mexico City, Mexico is 34 years old. He has been with the very best fighters of his time since 1958. The year 1975 marks the 17th year for Mantequilla to fight as a professional. That's a lot of work. A lot of years in the boxing profession.

Mantequilla came to the ring with a record of 79-6, with 54 knockouts! He already has fought in 85 contests. As for Armando "The Man" Muñiz, if any one was the one able to unseat Mantequilla from his throne, it was him. It was time for the title to change hands. And visibly, Mantequilla was not the same fighter when he thrashed Curtis Cokes for the welterweight crown 6 years later. But, still, he is the champion, and he's not giving up his crown just like that. You got to beat him.

Round one began and Mantequilla used his jabs and left hook perfectly. He won mostly the first series of rounds until the sixth. In round 3, he suffered a cut in his left eyebrow. It was believed that it was a head butt by Muñiz. The referee warned the challenger for the infraction.

But in round 7, everything else changed when a crushing right split Mantequilla's left eyebrow. Mantequilla was cut in both eyes. And Muñiz took control ever since. In round 10, a big right hand to Napoles' face opened the gash farther that blood spread all over Muñiz's back. Mantequilla's white shorts were looking red of his own blood. It was a mess.

The Man was giving Mantequilla an ass kicking! A shellacking! Mantequilla could not see Muñiz's right hands. His face was all bloodied. A bloody mess to say the least. It was like a train ran all over his face. Muñiz was kicking his ass! And the locals were worried that the fight was going to be stopped on cuts.

The locals' nightmare came through in round 12. When will the Mexican referee, Ramon Berumen will stop the carnage?

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The referee, to the dismay of many stopped the bout in round 12. The locals at the Acapulco's Centro Intetnacional thought that the title was going to change hands right there and then. Jose "Mantequilla" Napoles, the Linear and WBC Welterweight Champion of the World, was getting a shellacking.

Armando "The Man" Muñiz of Los Angeles, CA was giving Mantequilla the business. An ass kicking. The Man was kicking Mantequilla's ass! He was much stronger than Napoles in the inside exchanges, was fresher by the rounds and in my view, should have been the next champion of the world.

Not so. By the surprise of many, the referee, Ramon Berumen stopped the contest and announced on the microphone giving the win to Mantequilla Napoles by technical decision. Unbelievable! Just unbelievable!

For Mantequilla, it was a sight of relief. For The Man, it was a hard pill to swallow. A cold reality. His hopes and dreams of being world champion were trashed by this incompetent referee.

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Mantequilla Napoles improves to 80-6, with 54 knockouts.

The Man drops to 36-9-1 with 24 knockouts.

The WBC and the Muñiz's camp, demanded a rematch.

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There's no footage on YouTube of the Jose "Mantequilla" Napoles-Armando "The Man" Muñiz rematch.

The reports say that Napoles trained like never before and won comfortably on points for his 14th defense of his title. The date was in July 7, 1975. It was Mantequilla's last win and last great performance. He improves to 81-6, with 54 knockouts.

Another setback for The Man. He lost again for the world title. Well, he kept trying, and in January 1977, he challenged WBC World Welterweight Champion Carlos Palomino of Los Angeles, CA in the "Battle of College Graduates". Palomino won by knockout in the last and 15th round. It was one of the greatest slugfests in boxing history. In the rematch, in May 1978, Palomino beat Muñiz again. This time by unanimous decision in 15 rounds.

In December 1978, in his last fight, The Man, at 32 years old, lost to upcoming and rising superstar, the Olympic Gold Medalist and future hall of famer great Sugar Ray Leonard by technical knockout in 6 rounds.

Muñiz retired with a record of 44-14-1, with 30 knockouts.

[elmersalsa]

At 35 years old, Jose "Mantequilla" Napoles got to retire. What else can he do?

At this point in time of his career, he got to be considering retirement and not to lose his title to a guy that could not wear his jockstraps. He is already a boxing legend. One of boxing's top 100 pound per pound great boxers that ever lived. He got fame and money. And he could retire undefeated champ.

And if he goes out, winning or losing, it should be against someone of renown. Someone great. Forget about a rematch with the great Middleweight Champion Carlos Monzon of Argentina. He was too big for him. And a rematch, with all his fading faculties, he could get seriously hurt. And worse this time. He doesn't have the reflexes nor the speed of foot of year's past. He got over 87 fights. If he's going out, go out in style. If if he loses to someone like the great Roberto Duran of Panama or Antonio Cervantes of Colombia, at least he would retire with much more lucrative cash.

Many knew that Mantequilla's reign, at age 35, of the Welterweight class, was coming to an end. Only he could decide to retire right now or keep fighting until someone else dethrones him from his crown. The question is, who will be that fighter?

Well, Mantequilla next defense, the 15th overall of his career, was against a young man named John H. Stracey of London, England. The British and European Welterweight Champion. He is 28 years old.

And the boxing experts will ask, who's John H. Stracey. Is he the one to dethrone Mantequilla Napoles?

Well, Stracey, started his career in September 1969. The same year when Mantequilla took the crown from Curtis Cokes of Dallas, TX. He represented England in the Olympic Games in 1968 in Mexico City. With a record of 42-3-1, with 34 knockouts, it tells that the lad can hit.

Stracey won the British Welterweight Crown in a rematch on June 1973 against Bobby Arthur. He also annexed the European Welterweight Crown when he stopped in 8 rounds Roger Menetrey of France, another one of Mantequilla's victims on May 1974. Another of his big wins came on October of the same year against toughie top long time welterweight contender Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez of Los Angeles, CA. Stracey won by a 7th round stoppage. It was Lopez's last professional boxing match.

Does he got the tools and the pedigree to unseat Mantequilla Napoles?

[elmersalsa]

A crowd of 60,000 locals at the Monumental Plaza de Toros in Mexico City, Mexico came to see their boxing icon, the aging long-reigning champion Jose "Mantequilla" Napoles to defend his WBC and Lineal World Welterweight Crown against the English lad John H. Stracey.

The action started when in the same first round, Stracey got dropped by the famous Mantequilla's left hook. It was precise, beautiful, and fantastic. Probably, we got Napoles as champion for at least another year. Some people in the crowd thought so. The locals at the famous bull ring went nuts. Stracey showed the heart at least and finished the round.

It was a Saturday afternoon of December 6, 1975. Mantequilla looked sharp in the very first two rounds. But, in the third round, while still dominating the fight, something strange happened: Mantequilla while throwing his wicked combinations, stunned Stracey, and next thing I saw in disbelief, Mantequilla went down to the canvas without nobody else touching him. It was a funny moment in how he slipped without someone giving him a punch. Mistakenly, the referee, Octavio Meyran of Mexico, gave him an eighth-count. Unbelievable! Mantequilla protested to no avail. But that wasn't the only thing bad happening to him. He already got cut in the left eyebrow again.

These were signs, especially the slipping without nobody touching him and himself went down to the canvas. The balance, the coordination and reflexes of an aging champion is starting to show that is not there anymore. The wear and tear and physical fitness to go the 15 rounds, and the old gashes and cuts were showing that his time is through, win or lose.

Rounds 4 and 5 were interchangeably won by either fighter. But, Mantequilla's face was getting to be another mess again. He can't see. Stracey kept coming at him with left jabs and right crosses. Taking advantage of the old champion's vision, he rocked Napoles with a right. Mantequilla went back to a corner and Stracey started working on him with left jabs and wicked right crosses. Mantequilla can't see the shots. There were 22 unanswered shots by Stracey, and the referee stopped the contest.

The new Lineal and WBC Welterweight Champion of the World!......John H. Stracey of England!

It was a courageous performance by Stracey. After being knocked down in the first round, and being behind on points, resisting and prevailing against a hostile crowd, he overcame the odds and became the new Welterweight Champion of the World. With the British and European Welterweight crowns, now he's champion in all levels of professional boxing competition when he annexed the World Welterweight Championship.

This got to be the end of a great championship run. Jose "Mantequilla" Napoles is champion no more. After the loss, he announced his retirement from boxing for good. And retired with a record of 81-7, with 54 knockouts. He compiled a record of 15-3 in world title bouts. One of the best reigns in welterweight history.

As for Stracey, in his second title defense, he lost the crown to Carlos Palomino of Los Angeles, CA by knockout.