Bennie Briscoe vs. Rafael Gutierrez

Bennie Briscoe 161 lbs beat Rafael Gutierrez 164 lbs by KO at 2:17 in round 2 of 10

• Date: 1971-11-15
• Location: Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
• Referee: Pete Tomasco

"Bennie Briscoe, the world's No. 1 ranking middleweight contender came from the brink of defeat Monday night, surviving two first round knockdowns before knocking out Rafael Gutierrez at 2:17 of the 2nd round. The two ranking middleweights went after each other right from the first bell as Gutierrez dropped Briscoe to the floor with a succession of punches to the head. Briscoe got up staggering and soon was floored again. He weathered the second pounding and landed several blows himself before the round ended. In the 2nd round, Briscoe completely turned the bout around. He tagged his opponent with a series of jabs before landing a crushing left hook that sent Gutierrez to the canvas for the 10 count." -Associated Press

• It was reported that this was only the second and third time Briscoe had ever been down. The first time, it was reported, was by Carlos Marks.
• Briscoe was a substitute for Eugene (Cyclone) Hart, who was unable to take the signed bout as he still had not recovered from falling out of the ring in his bout with Denny Moyer on September 21st, 1971.