Rodrigo Valdez: He was "Badder Then Bennie"

Despite his recent loss to Jermain Taylor the respect for Bernard Hopkins and his addition to the legacy of great Philly fighters has not waned. The great city of Philadelphia has produced an array of world-class middleweights over the years. Hopkins has brought great pride to the long line of Philly middleweights who came before him: Tough guys like Stanley "Kitten" Hayward, Eugene "Cyclone" Hart, Bobby "Boogaloo" Watts, Willie "The Worm" Monroe and possibly the toughest of them all, "Bad" Bennie Briscoe. When people talk of Hopkins now they compare him to Stanley Ketchel, Harry Greb, Sugar Ray Robinson and his more recent contemporaries, CarlosMonzon and Marvin Hagler. Did someone forget a classy and fine middleweight named Rodrigo Valdez? Valdez was a world-class fighter who suffered from the " De Jesus " syndrome. That is like the outstanding Estaban DeJesus being overshadowed in his career by the skill of Roberto Duran. So too was Rodrigo Valdez overshadowed by Monzon. Take Duran and Monzon out of the picture and DeJesus and Valdez might be in the Hall Of Fame. Born in Columbia in 1946, Rodrigo turned pro n 1963. He racked up an impressive record in his homeland and then invaded the US in 1969. In 1970he dropped decisions to fringe contenders Pete Toro and Ralph Palladin. In 1971 Rodrigo moved into the big time by stopping the rugged BobbyCassidy in seven. In 1972 he scored a big win over clever Carlos Marks. In 1973 Rodrigo outscored the always-tough Jose Gonzalez. Later in the yearValdez took on the dangerous Bennie Briscoe. Rodrigo won an upset twelve round verdict and entered the elite of the middleweight division. In 1974 the W.B.C. decided to no longer recognize Carlos Monzon as the middleweight titleholder. Instead they paired Valdez and Briscoe in a match for the vacant title. In a shocker Rodrigo scored a one punch seventh round KO over the usually unstoppable Briscoe. He may not have been the real champion but this victory and how he achieved it established Rodrigo as Monzon's number one threat. Valdez would defend his version of the crown four times turning back Gratien Tonna, Ramon Mendez, Rudy Robles and Max Cohen. Finally on June 26, 1976 Rodrigo stepped into a ring in Monte Carlo to meet the great Monzon. In this well contested battle Monzon proved to be just a little too muchas he won a close decision to unify the title. Still Rodrigo's showing was so good that the two would meet again thirteen months later. This boutproduced a classic between the two best middleweights in the world at that time. "King" Carlos picked himself off the floor and rallied to pull out avery close decision to retain his title. After two wars with Rodrigo and the effects of Father Time, Carlos decided to retire. Again Valdez was matched with the aging but still potent Briscoe for the vacant title. Once again Rodrigo would prove to be Bennie's master by taking a hard earned points call and the championship. It has been said over the years that a fighter can get old overnight, even the great ones. This seemed to happen to Valdez. Maybe after two warswith Monzon and a trilogy with Mr. Briscoe, the wear and tear began to set in. Eventually a slick boxer from Argentina named Hugo Corro out speeded and out boxed Rodrigo to win the title. The rematch seven months later saw youth was again served as Corro outscored a very old looking Valdez. How can I not have the utmost respect for Rodrigo Valdez? This man took Carlos Monzon to hell and back not once but twice. Bennie Briscoe was one of my all time favorite fighters but Rodrigo owned him. As far as I'm concerned he has not received the recognition that is due to him. Bernard Hopkins has made a believer out of me. We'll never know if he could have defeated Greb, Zale or Monzon. I'll say this, win or lose hewould have had his hands full with a boxer named Rodrigo Valdez.

Jim Amato

CURTIS COKES

He may have been one of the best pound for pound boxers of the 1960's but he was over shadowed by the antics of one Cassius Clay / Muhammad Ali. He may have been the best fighter in the welterweight division during the decade but he never had a chance to prove it against Emile Griffith. Instead he labored in the back round, fighting and beating all comers. Only after Griffith moved up to middleweight and allowed him to capture the vacated title did Curtis Cokes gain some long over due recognition. Curtis who never had an amateur fight began his professional career in Midland, Texas on March 24, 1958 outscoring Manuel Gonzalez over six rounds. Curtis and Manuel would get to know each other a lot better in years to come.Curtis was born on June 15, 1937 in Dallas, Texas. He would go on to win his next ten fights including an eight rounder over Gonzalez. Finally in April of 1959, one year after turning pro Curtis suffered his first career loss to none other then Manuel Gonzalez. A no contest in a match with the talented Rip Randall set up a rematch. Curtis took out Randall in the first round. Later in the year Curtis would drop a six round duke to Frankie Davis. Cokes won four fights in 1960. In 1961 he moved up the ladder with big wins over Joe Miceli and Charley " Tombstone " Smith. Cokes then dropped a decision in Mexico to Hilario Morales.He then fought a draw with the clever Kenny Lane in Dallas. Back in Dallas two months later Curtis scored a huge win with a split decision over the highly respected Luis Rodriguez. Cokes would then meet and again decision Manny Gonzalez but would lose a points call to Rodriguez in a return match. Curtis would bounce back in 1962 with five straight wins including knockouts over Hilario Morales and the rugged Rudolph Bent. Another trip to Mexico cost him another defeat. This time a decision to Manuel Sixto Alvarez. Four more wins led to a 1963 clash at the Sunnyside Garden in New York against contender Jose Stable. Curtis lost a very close decision. Cokes would then outpoint the very tough Stan Harrington. On May 1, 1964 Curtis travelled to the Blue Horizon in Philadelphia to meet the dangerous Stan " Kitten " Hayward. He would suffer a major set back as Hayward stopped Cokes in round four.It was back to the drawing board for Curtis. Two decision wins over Al Andrews got him back on track but he dropped a ten rounder to the slick Eddie Pace. On December 13, 1965 Curtis won the Southern Welterweight title with a twelve round decision over Billy Collins. On July 6, 1966 Cokes stopped Luis Rodriguez one minute in to the fifteenth and final round of an eliminination bout for the welterweight title vacated by Emile Griffith. Seven weeks after his win over Rodriguez, Cokes met old rival Manuel Gonzalez for the WBA version of the welterweight title. The battle took place in New Orleans. Curtis floored Gonzalez on his way to a lopsided decision and a world's championship. In November Cokes outclassed Frenchman Jean Josselin to win universal recognition as welterweight champion. Still many felt that Cokes was the champ only because Griffith had vacated the division. Curtis would go on to prove himself a worthy champion.In early 1967 Curtis would have three non title affairs. First he drew with Francious Pavilla. He knocked out Ted Whitfield but then Curtis was outpointed by the wily Gypsy Joe Harris. Finally Cokes defended his title halting Pavilla in a return bout. Next came a very impressive stoppage of sharp contender Charlie Shipes. Two non title wins in early 1968 over Josselin and Jimmy Lester led to a defense in Dallas against South African contender Willie Ludick. An inspired Cokes flattened Ludick in the fifth round. Three non title knockouts in South Africa followed including a repeat performance over Ludick. Then came a one sided title retaining verdict over Ramon La Cruz. Jose Napoles, a Cuban who had migrated to Mexico years before had long been considered one of the best fighters in the business. Still he had never received a shot at a world title. Curtis Cokes was a proud man and a proud champion. He felt he was the best welterweight in the world. He also knew that Napoles was a very worthy contender and that he deserved a shot at the title. They met at the Forum in Inglewood, California on April 18, 1969. On that day Napoles proved to the world that he was a special fighter. Jose out fought and battered the game Cokes throughout using a remarkable jab and bone jarring combinations. Hopelessly behind on points Curtis did not answer the bell for round fourteen and his belt was awarded to Napoles. Maybe it was just a bad night but Curtis had to know so he went down to Mexico two months later to attempt to reclaim his championship. Again Napoles proved to be too much for the game Cokes and the bout was ended after ten rounds. Curtis would return seven months later as a full fledged middleweight. Cokes had hoped that old rival Luis Rodriguez would defeat middleweight king Nino Benvenuti when they met on November 22, 1969. Curtis was confident that Rodriguez would give him a crack at the middleweight title. After ten rounds Rodriguez had Benvenuti bleeding and bewildered and it looked like Luis was going to take the crown and then just like that, it was over. A crashing left hook put Rodriguez flat on his back for the count as the bleeding Benvenuti retained his crown. With little hope of a title shot Curtis still campaigned as a middleweight. He won four bouts but then drew with Akron's Fate Davis, a fighter he he defeated seven months earlier. Cokes then lost decisions to Rafael Gutierrez and Carlos Salinas on the West Coast. Then he lost to Elijah Makathini in South Africa. By now it was 1972 and Carlos Monzon was firmly entrenched as middleweight king. There would be little interest in a bout between the great Monzon and the aging Cokes. Curtis returned to South Africa and won decisions over Joseph Hali and Ezra Mzinyane and then retired. In 80 bouts Curtis put together a fine 62-14-3 record with one no contest. He won thirty fights by knockout. He was stopped only three times. He met the best welterweights of his era other then Emile Griffith.Curtis was inducted into the International Boxing Hall Of Fame in 2003 With the help of mutual friend Steve Canton, I was able to reach Mr. Cokes and have a very nice conversation with him. I contacted him at his gym where he trains boxers. Curtis once trained highly regarded heavyweights Ike Ibeabuchi and Kirk Johnson. He also guided Quincy Taylor to the middleweight title. He also appeared in the boxing movie classic " Fat City ". Curtis was extremely courteous and giving with his time. He said even though he and Manny Gonzalez met in the ring numerous times, they were very good friends. Curtis had a tremendous amount of respect for Luis Rodriguez and despite their battles they always maintained a friendly relationship. I asked him if he regretted never meeting Emile Griffith in the ring. Curtis more or less said that he had no control on Emile's decision to move up in weight. Did he feel he could have defeated Emile ? In his low key, respectful manner Mr.Cokes just stated he felt that he was capable of beating any welterweight in the world during his prime but he had a great respect for Emile's talent and that they are friends. He said the knockout loss to Stan Hayward in 1964 took him by surprise but he just put it behind him and moved on. He called Napoles a great fighter who he was just unable to overcome. Curtis really felt that if Rodriguez would have defeated Benvenuti, they would have met again. This time for the middleweight championship of the world. I would like to thank Curtis Cokes for taking the time to speak to me one on one. I'd also like to thank promoter, trainer, gym owner and jack of all trades Steve Canton for helping me to contact Curtis.

Jim Amato

HANDS OF STONE : The Life And Legend Of Roberto Duran

HANDS OF STONE : The Life And Legend Of Roberto DuranAuthor: Christian Giudice

Roberto Duran is my favorite fighter of all time. Because of this fact I thought I may be a little bias in my opinion of the book " Hands Of Stone ". Would I over rate it because the subject was Duran or would I be too harsh and expect too much ? All I know is when it hit the shelf, I had to have it. Although time is not a luxury for me these days I was going to make time to read this book. I'm glad I did.The author Christian Giudice did a tremendous job in researching this project. I was amazed at the number of people who were a part of Duran's life and legacy that he was able to talk too. The information he was able to gather molded this into more then just a book. It became a journey through Duran's life from his humble beginnings to the present. Family members and former opponents along with many others painted a picture of this great fighter and complex man we call Duran. That name alone stirs great memories for boxing fans around the world and the author was able to weave a superb story of one of boxing's all time greats on to the pages of this book. This is a must read for all boxing fans and if you are a Duran fan...Well what are you waiting for ?

Jim Amato

' WHO'S YOUR DADDY ' Part II : Monzon- Benvenuti

Nino Benvenuti may be considered among the best amateur boxers of all time. He had a great professional career too. His first loss was on a highly disputed decision to Ki Soo Kim. He would win two out of three in a legendary middleweight trilogy with the highly respected Emile Griffith. Eventually though his star would diminish. There was a non title draw in 1968 against Akron, Ohio's rugged Doyle Baird. It was a fight many thought Doyle won. Then came a loss to the terrific Dick Tiger. Then a life and death DQ win over Fraser Scott. Nino was then cut and on the verge of losing before he landed a left hook on slick Luis Rodriguez to retain his title. In Nino's next bout he was halted by Tom " The Bomb " Bethea. Benvenuti had obviously under rated Bethea the first time around as he whipped Tom good in a rematch. Still you could see Nino was not the fighter of days gone by. In November of 1970 enter Argentina's Carlos Monzon. A disputed draw against the feared Bennie Briscoe earned Carlos a rating. Still Carlos was not considered a serious challenge to Nino's crown. WRONG !!! Maybe Nino was on the downside of his fabulous career. Maybe a prime Benvenuti would have fared better against Monzon In my opinion Nino is lucky he met Monzon when he did. Any sooner would have resulted in the end of Nino' s title reign. Make no mistake about it folks, Carlos owned Nino. Benvenuti could not intimidate Monzon. Carlos could have cared less about Nino's complaints to the referee. To Monzon it was a street fight with a few rules. He mugged Nino. Along the eighth, ninth and tenth rounds Nino realized his dilemma. He could not hurt Carlos and he could not deter his aggressiveness. He knew he was doomed. Give Nino his due. He was a proud champion and he would go out on his shield. That is just what he did in round twelve as a Monzon right left him in a heap. Nino's title was gone. Again a case can be made that Nino was past his prime. In his next fight he lost a decision to Monzon's countryman Jose Chirino. Still Monzon-Benvenuti II took place. This was child's play for Carlos as he dominated Nino until the fight was stopped in the third round. There is no doubt in my mind that Nino would have lost to Carlos anytime they fought.

Jim Amato

THE PRICE OF PAIN

In many sports a participant is subject to pain. It goes with the territory. The nature of the beast so to speak. To me there can be no greater obvious damage to a participant then in boxing. If you are a boxer and happen to be matched with a superior opponent you must try to summon the courage to endure the pain. It is the game and it is expected of you. Anything less from you could brand you as a coward to the average fan. He who sits on couch and sips beer watching you take a first class shellacking. Oh the fan will call you a gutless dog but he has probably never stepped into the ring. If he has it was probably not against world class opposition. I have seen some great fighters take terrible beatings. Case in point, the recent beat down of Oscar De La Hoya against a fighting machine named Manny Pacquiao. It was decisive and it was sad. This brought back the memories of the great Ali being battered by Larry Holmes. Of Holmes being wasted by a young terror named Mike Tyson. There was an aging Jose Napoles being savaged by John Stracey. The worst for me was seeing my hero Roberto Duran being tormented by William Joppy. I can bring up so many other examples. Like Bobby Chacon being ripped apart by Ray Mancini. Etc, etc...It all spells one thing...SADNESS. Look at some of the beatings the great Julio Cesar Chavez absorbed as his career was winding down. Time waits for no man. Even the greatest will be defeated. Erosion takes a man's talent like a flowing river cuts through the earth.I hope now the Oscar will retire. He has nothing left to prove. I worry that another great fighter, Shane Mosley will suffer a sad defeat soon at the hands of Antonio Margarito.

Jim Amato

OSCAR " RINGO " BONAVENA

Who was the greatest fighter to come out of Argentina? Well pound for pound you would probably say Monzon or possibly Pascual Perez. You could make a case for Nicolino Locke too. Who was the biggest and baddest of all Argentine fighters? Many would say Luis "Angel" Firpo. I'll go with Oscar "Ringo" Bonavena. When Oscar started his career in 1964, he met tough opponents like Tom McNeely and Dick Wipperman. In his first bout in 1965, he was overmatched and defeated by verteran contender Zora Folley. Oscar left New York and returned to Argentina. He defeated the vary capable Gregorio Paralta and American import, Billy Daniels. When he returned to New York in 1966, he outpointed equally rugged George Chuvalo.Oscar was then matched with 1964 Olympic gold Medal winner, Joe Frezier. The fight was classic. Oscar had Joe down twice but Grazier came back to win a close decision. In 1867, Oscar was entered in the eight man tourney to determine the defrocked Muhammad Ali's successor. Oscar traveled to Germany and trounced southpaw Karl Mildenberger. In his next match he was floored twice and soundly beaten by the eventual tourney winner, Jimmy Ellis. Oscar regrouped in 1968 beating Folley in a rematch and also the respected, Leotis Martin. He was matched again with Joe Frazier for the New York version of the crown. Oscar fell behind early but he came back strong only to drop the verdict.Bonavena would remain a mainstay in the talent rich rankings 'til the untimely end of his career.Two years after his loss to Frazier, Oscar would face the comebacking Muhammad Ali.It would be one of the most grueling fights of Ali's career. The "Greatest" came out on tap, stopping a dead game but exhausted Oscar in round 15.In 1971, he won by disqualification over Al "Blue" Lewis. In 1972, he met former champion, Floyd Patterson. Oscar lost a very debatable decision. Two years later he was defeated by Ron Lyle.This loss pretty much pushed Oscar out of the title picture. Bonavena was still a rated fighter when on May 22, 1976, he was shot and killed at a brothel in Las Vegas.The hard partying "Bad Boy" has finally met his match.

Jim Amato

WHO'S YOUR DADDY ? ' Part 1 : FOREMAN - FRAZIER

This is a series on fights where one fighter seemed to " own " the opponent. What better series to start with then George Foreman and Joe Frazier. If there was ever a better example of styles make fights, I missed it. As great as Joe was and believe me he was great...He could have fought George a hundred times and never beat him. Joe was able to bull and back up the likes of good fighters like Oscar Bonavena, Buster Mathis Sr., Jerry Quarry, Jimmy Ellis and a great one named Ali but he could not budge Big George. Against Foreman he ran into a brick wall. He could not move George but boy could George move him ! It was simple arithmetic...Power versus power divided by size equals KO to the Big Guy. A case of pure and simple OUCH ! In their dramatic first fight in Kingston, Jamaica in 1973 the astute, revered and sometimes hated Howard Cosell added to boxing lore with his famous " Down goes Frazier, down goes Frazier, down goes Frazier " call on the fight. Truth be told George bounced a game but over matched Frazier around the ring like a rubber ball. It was a shocking sight for those of us growing up at that time. Well as history shows us George lost the title to Muhammad Ali. As he attempted to come back he met Frazier again. Joe looked different ( Shaved head ) and he fought different ( he tried to box and move ). It did not help. It only prolonged the inevitable. George caught up to Joe in round five and destroyed him. George proved then and forever that he was the superior fighter when facing Frazier.

Jim Amato