One of the main sporting events of the 20th century for Argentina occurred on November 7, 1970. On this date, Carlos Monzón got into boxing history by beating Nino Benvenuti by knockout in round 12. To celebrate 50 years since that encounter we are going to tell you the story of Carlos Monzón, a legend of world and Latin American boxing.

Carlos Monzón was born on August 7, 1942 in San Javier (Santa Fe Province) Argentina. Monzón belonged to a humble family and when he was in the third grade of primary education, he dropped out of school to start working and helping with the family support. He worked as much as he could, mainly as shoeshine in the streets, taking advantage of the football matches of Colón and Unión to which many people attended to have a greater profit. Since boxing was taught at the Unión club, it was there that he became interested in this sport. On his mind was always the decision to leave poverty and give his family a better life.

His first amateur fight was on October 2, 1959 and his last, before turning professional, on December 12, 1962 as a middleweight boxer. On February 6, 1963, he made his professional debut, against Ramón Montenegro, whom he defeated by KO. Between 1963 and 1964, he suffered some defeats due to his inexperience and the quality of his rivals, but from 1965, his luck took a turn, and all were victories. In 1970, the South American Middleweight Championship opened the doors for him to contest the world title held by the Italian Nino Benvenuti at that time. The contest was held at the Palazzo dello Sport in Rome on November 7, 1970. In it, Monzón knocked out the champion in the twelfth round, obtaining the world middleweight crown of the Association and the World Boxing Council. After being crowned world champion, Carlos Monzón successfully defended the title 14 times with a record of 100 fights: 87 victories (59 KOs), 3 defeats, 9 draws and a no-contest, until he retired in 1977. If you witnessed any of these fights, you cannot miss future boxing events from the best bookmakers. So hurry up, and open an original Betfair account through our exclusive service.

In 1981, he married Alicia Muñiz, with whom he had a son, Maximiliano. On February 14, 1988, when he was drunk he argued with her, beat her and finally threw her from the balcony of the house he occupied in Mar del Plata. The boxer was accused and found guilty in a controversial trial, being sentenced to 11 years in prison. When he was in the final stage of his sentence, he began to enjoy restricted outings to work as a boxing coach. When he returned from one of those trips, he had a car accident and died. He was buried the next day in the municipal cemetery of Santa Fe, with the attendance of almost 60,000 people.

Carlos Monzón is considered as one of the greatest athletes in Argentina, reaching the fame that only characters such as Diego Armando Maradona, Lionel Messi and Juan Manuel Fangio have held. At his retirement, he had the record of 100 professional fights, with 87 won, 9 draws, only 3 losses and 1 no-contest. If you are passionate about boxing, visit our section dedicated to highly specialized bookmakers and select the one that best suits your needs. Our customer support team will give you all the help you need to enjoy the world of betting without restrictions.