BoxRec

RIP Champ.

Bennie Briscoe wobbled the crazy Carlos Monzon in the ninth round of their almost mythical world title encounter in Argentina in 1972. Monzon recovered on the way to a 15-round decision but that was it, no more Briscoe - even a crazy man has his limits. Briscoe had previously held him to a 10-round draw in Buenos Aires in 1967.
"Bad" Bennie died yesterday, a middleweight boxing legend who fought everybody in a 96-fight career spanning 20 years, when nobody really wanted to fight him. Briscoe ruled the roost in the meanest, toughest, fiercest fight corner in the entire history of boxing, that of Philadelphia in the 1970s, the place where Marvin Hagler proved he could really fight, where Matthew Saad Muhammad proved inhuman, where Rocky proved immortal and where Briscoe proved the biggest draw.
Briscoe's 10-rounders with Eugene "Cycone" Hart, Stanley "Kitten" Hayward, Tom "The Bomb" Bethea, Billy "Dynamite" Douglas, Luis Rodriguez, Georgie Benton, Eddie Gregory and that man Hagler, "The Battle of the Baldies", drew huge crowds in his home city, but Briscoe also travelled well as he showed against Monzon and the likes of Rodrigo Valdez, Emile Griffiths, Tony Mundine and Vicente Rondon.
Big and strong-looking, Bennie was so much more than just strength, than physical toughness. His jab was a thing of beauty, his body shots clearly hurt Hagler, whom he was literally running after at times, his chin let him down just once, in the second of three wars with the vastly underrated Valdez, the only time he was stopped, and his stamina always held out.
Oh yes, Briscoe the fighter was hard-headed, clever, aggressive and heavy handed. He stopped 53 of his 66 victims, an incredible number when you consider whom he fought, and took Hagler the full 10 rounds in 1978 when he was way past his best. Bennie trudged on for a few more years, eventually retiring in 1982 to his day job as a santitation worker. Years after his retirement he could be seen pounding the Philly streets in the early morning, a ghostly figure training for the fight that never was.
Bennie Briscoe will be there tomorrow, in the twilight, winning the fight on the road.

A very kind tribute Bennie, thank you.

We will never see his kind again, in this era of mega-hyped mediocrity being spoon fed to the general sports public, who have little or no boxing knowledge, by the yes men of TV companies.

Great Tribute Bennie
RIP one of the best

RIP Bennie. :(

R.I.P Bennie Briscoe.

Nice tribute Bennie - RIP Bennie Briscoe, a real hard case and an excellent fighter - unlucky to be fighting when he did. He would be champion today.

RIP Bennie Briscoe

bennie is briscoe the coloured guy in the photo?? i think ive seen footage of him bulling hagler around :!: & he looked an old man :!: obviously hagler grew alot after or maybe not??

I watched Hagler/Briscoe last week, I'm ashamed to say that's the only fight I've seen him in
He was tough as old boots and didn't stop throwing all kinds of shots and just kept on coming.

RIP Bennie.. nice tribute

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6UEzA1JRMA


Some cracking Briscoe action here.

bennie wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6UEzA1JRMA


Some cracking Briscoe action here.

Some great clips thanks, he was one formidable fighter!

What a tough guy he was! He fought anyone and all ways gave it one hell of a go. One of the best chins I've seen

The Gatekeeper to the MW title in the 1970's! Bennie may not have held a title, but if he was ariund today, he would be a champion, no doubt that!

He's still a champion in my eyes! The man fought the best, ducked no one.

My thoughts go out to those close to Bennie!

RIP CHAMP!

Bennie Briscoe turned pro as a 19-year-old welterweight in 1962 and quicky established himself as a tough, determined, intimidating fighter from Philadelphia with real ability. Briscoe hooked off the jab, ripped in the body punches, racked up the knockouts, filled out to middleweight and picked up a nickname. "Bad" Bennie was well into world class by the time Philadelphia emerged as the fight capital of the world for a few years in the 1970s. So it is that Briscoe epitomises the Philly fighter. He was there at the start, and he was there at the end, still standing.
Bennie died on December 28 at the age of 67, having never won a world title in a career that took in 96 fights across 20 years. Briscoe found himself trapped at light-middleweight in his early pro years, when nobody gave a damn about the division, and two losses to former world champion Luis Rodriguez held him back initially at middleweight, and it was the gifted Rodriguez who challenged Italy's Nino Benvenuti in 1969.
Briscoe was almost 30 when he got his own shot in 1972 against Carlos Monzon at the historic Luna Park in Buenos Aires, where he went the full 15 rounds. Briscoe had previously held Monzon to a 10-round draw in the same stadium, which meant he was robbed, and he ploughed into the champion and shook him up in the ninth with a big right. Otherwise, Monzon controlled the fight on the way to a unanimous decision, but there are those who will tell you Briscoe was one punch away from victory in that ninth round, that the ropes held Monzon up, that the referee allowed Monzon to hang on far too long, that Briscoe was robbed a second time.
It is true that Briscoe did better in rematches, as he showed in two memorable fights with Eugene "Cyclone" Hart (and in countless other rematches), but the same applied to the brilliant Monzon, probably the greatest pure middleweight of all time, unless you plump for Marvin Hagler, and Briscoe fought them both. Bennie would fight three times for the world middleweight title. He pounded on Rodrigo Valdez in Monte Carlo in 1974 for the WBC belt stripped from Monzon and was on the verge of a stoppage win when the Colombian, bloodied and battered, unloaded a frightening barrage in the seventh round to finish Briscoe. Then, after Monzon walked away from boxing, sucking on his cigarettes and beating on his stunning blonde actress of a girlfriend, Briscoe and Valdez met again in 1977 in Italy. Both men were through, but Valdez had enough left to take the undisputed title on a narrow 15-round decision.
It was this spent version of Briscoe that Hagler outboxed a year later in a 10-rounder in Philly, by which time Briscoe was 35. The old stager hurt Hagler to the body but lacked his usual snap. Nigel Collins, editor of Ring magazine and a ringside reporter throughout the Philly golden era, says of the fight: "The only time I ever saw Hagler back up most of a fight was against Bennie, but even Hagler wasn't going to stand toe-to-toe with Bennie."
He continues: "We're talking about someone who was never pretentious, who never went Hollywood. Bennie preferred being out on the street with the boys. He was a no-nonsense fighter, a real badass in the ring, but he was charismatic, even if he wasn't into shooting his mouth off. His philosophy of boxing was, 'I come in shape, and I come to knock my man out.' That struck a chord with Philadelphia fight fans."
Briscoe retired in 1982 after dropping a 10-round decision to Jimmie Sykes at the Blue Horizon, leaving with a record of 66-24-5 (53). He was only ever stopped by Valdez.

noticed he had the star of david on his trunk's.

Bennie - Thank you for a great tribute and some fascinating information. I far prefer these fighters who seem much more real; with their lives, faults and flaws; than the manufactured superstars we seem to have so many of today. RIP Bennie Briscoe; (what a damn cool name!)

Nice job again Bennie sounds like an exciting career the man had.