‘He is a conqueror and a prince, he is a tamer and he is the beast, he is the matador and the brave bull, he is the man and he is an animal. He is Carlos Monzón.
He is, in short, the macho, in Spanish. But, in Argentina, they don’t say that Carlos is a macho. They say he is EL MACHO (THE MAN). That is to say, virile perfection. That mysterious and inexplicable thing that shines in certain men and that when they appear everyone just knows that they were born to have a kingdom. The boxing kingdom or another. Carlos Monzon is of this breed…’.
The words are from the famous French film actor Alain Delon, who died in Douchy Montcorbon, France, at the age of 88 on Sunday 18 August, and they were written by Henry Pessar for the foreword of the book ‘I, Carlos Monzon’ , a book that narrates the life and history and end of the iconic middleweight world champion.
Delon, who rose to fame for his performances in films such as ‘The Gatopardo’, ‘Purple Noon’, ‘Rocco and his brothers’, ‘Our Story’, among others (his films were watched by some 134 million people worldwide), became passionate about boxing after seeing the Argentinian fighter, nicknamed Escopeta because of the power of his fists, on 8 May 1971 in Monte Carlo in a fight in which the Argentinian rematched the Italian Nino Benvenuti, whom he had dethroned the previous November in Rome, with a ten-round knockout.
Delon quedó impresionado con la contundente y apabullante demostración de Monzón, que aplastó sin piedad al excampeón del mundo en solo tres rounds. Sería aquel episodio el comienzo de una larga amistad entre el boxeador y el actor.
Promoter and friend
It didn’t take long after that first meeting for Delon to become so enthusiastic about boxing – a sport he had always been attracted to, but only as an amateur – that he decided to promote the fight for his new friend. Which he did when Monzón faced the French challenger Jean-Claude Bouttier (also a close friend of the actor) on September 29, 1973.
Before that, Monzon had successfully defended the WBA and WBC belts against Emile Griffith, Denny Moyer, Bouttier himself, Tom Bogs, Benny Briscoe and Griffith again, the latter a tough 15-round fight in which Delon was among the thousands of spectators, along with the likes of Prince Rainier of Monaco and his daughter Princess Caroline, fellow actors David Niven and Jean Paul Belmondo and couturier Pierre Cardin, among dozens of other celebrities.
The Monzon-Bouttier II was set up by Delon and the Italian Rodolfo Sabatini, the southern boxer’s representative in Europe, at the famous Roland Garros stadium in the French capital. The undisputed master of the 160 lbs. first fight with the same opponent had won by KO in 12, now scored a unanimous decision.
Delon and Sabattini joined forces again and on February 9, 74 put Monzon and Cuban-Mexican José Ángel ‘Mantequilla’ Nápoles, the welterweight king who was looking for the upper division crown, in the ring. Nápoles proved easy prey for the Argentinean, who took advantage of his physical advantages and defeated him in front of some 11,000 fans, when Nápoles did not come out for the seventh round. When the fight was over, Monzon could not submit to the anti-doping test (he was unable to give a urine sample) and the World Council opted to strip him of his title, which the World Association did not do because it was considered disproportionate.
After ‘Mantequilla’, Monzon fought and defeated Australian Tony Mundine (KOT7), American Tony Licata (KOT10), Tunisian Gratien Tonna (KO6) and said goodbye to the ring with a close decision win over Colombian Rodrigo Valdes, in one of the fiercest fights of his career.
When he hung up his gloves after a 14-year career from 1963-77 he left a record of 87 wins (59 by KO) and only three defeats. His 14 defences were long a top mark for the 72.562kg category, surpassed in 2015 by American Bernard Hopkins, with 20..
xThe last meeting
The fraternal bond between the actor and the boxer remained strong over time. The last time they met was in sad circumstances.
Delon had travelled from France to the Argentine province of Santa Fe in 1993 to visit his friend, in prison at Las Piedras penitentiary in Santa Rosa de Calchines where he was serving an 11-year sentence for the murder of his wife, Alicia Muñiz. On 14 February 1988, Valentine’s Day, Delon spent several hours with Monzón, encouraging him, chatting at length and animatedly with him.
Two years later, on 8 January 1995, the 53-year-old Monzon was killed in a car accident on his way back to prison, speeding in his car after a special leave of absence.
As for Delon, who cloaked himself in discreet and impossible anonymity, several years after his trip to Argentina, he suffered a stroke in 2019 from which he miraculously survived, but fell into such a depression that he even requested euthanasia in Switzerland, where it is legal, but his request was denied.
In his final days he said in a letter ‘I am going to leave this life without feeling sad. Life no longer appeals to me. I have seen and experienced everything. I hate the present age.
Born on 8 November 1935 in Sceaux, France, Alain Fabien Maurice Delon Amold, his given name, a star of French and world cinema, died peacefully of lymphoma. In relation to Monzon, there will always remain their long friendship
and a phrase of Delon’s: ‘We were both very poor. We both became stars.
