BoxRec

Who would win this battle of the two best European middleweights? Cerdan, the rugged agressive Frenchman or the handsome boxing Italian.

I'd like to see other predictions before I post mine, but right now I am leaning siginificantly toward Cerdan stopping Nino late.

i have marcel winning in 12 rounds,pounding the italian later in the fight.

I agree with dalek.

I've seen numerous clips of Cerdan smashing people and the majority of two bouts in which Benvenuti got smashed (by Monzon) ...Cerdan just seems so much more physical and fast and strong for Nino.

Benvenuti had trouble with Emile Griffith, who is comparable to Cerdan in terms of height (about 3" smaller than Benvenuti). He also had a tough time with a very ordinary jr middleweight champion in Ki Soo Kim (a hometown decision, but close). Cerdan had more power, a longer tenure at middle, and better boxing skills than either fighter. I like Cerdan by 9th round KO.

dalek wrote:i have marcel winning in 12 rounds,pounding the italian later in the fight.

That's exactly how I saw it when I started this topic. Benvenuti wins the first 3-4 rounds then gets drawn into slugfest. Cerdan controls from then on, dropping Benvenuti three times in the 12th for an automatic TKO.