By Cliff Rold
14 title defenses is nothing to sneeze at. Even in an era of fractured titles, most men don’t climb into double digit defenses. Those who can, and then do, deserve a round of applause. They’ve earned that.
What they sometimes have not earned is the right to rub shoulders with the immortals of the game. Such is the case of 33-year old WBO Flyweight titlist Omar Narvaez (28-0-2, 17 KO) of Argentina.
Listening only to the hype, Narvaez hit number 14 on Saturday night via unanimous decision over Alejandro Hernandez (20-6-1, 9 KO). In doing so he tied the Middleweight defense record of an immortal fellow Argentine, Carlos Monzon.
But not really.
Boxing isn’t Baseball. It’s not a game whose history is tied intrinsically to its numbers. Boxing’s history is richly colored by its anecdotes, its larger than life legends, and the fights that defined them. Still, there are hollowed marks in the game.
49-0 (Rocky Marciano’s career mark).
25 (Joe Louis’ record for consecutive title defenses at Heavyweight or any other division).
Monzon’s 14 was, for many years, one of those records. The numbers were magnified by the quality of competition. He defeated undisputed Middleweight champ Nino Benvenuti for the title and then again in a rematch; mastered the rugged Bennie Briscoe; defeated a still game Emile Griffith twice; knocked off all-time great Welterweight Jose Napoles; and when the WBC stripped him of their belt he went and got it back, defeating the sensational Rodrigo Valdez twice to end his career. The importance of the Middleweight division further made his 14 a special mark. Marvin Hagler wanted it and fell short. Bernard Hopkins wanted it and some think he got it and passed it.
Some don’t.
Hopkins won the IBF belt in 1995 and defended it 12 times before entering into a unification tournament. He added two more belts, earned universal recognition, and added eight more defenses including a fourth sanctioning body belt before dropping the crown in his attempted 21st defense a decade after it all started.
Those who would argue he didn’t truly equal the feats of Monzon point to his not holding the lineage of the crown, outright, from start to finish. Those who argue in his favor point to the fact that Hopkins was tied to the schisms of his era and are right to note that Hopkins at least paid the price, leaving no stone unturned. No matter which side of the debate fans fall on, Hopkins deserves to have the merits debated.
Narvaez does not.
He’s beaten some good fighters since capturing the WBO belt in 2002 with a seventh round stoppage of Adonis Rivas. Bernard Inom, Andrea Sarritzu, and Brahim Asloum are all solid wins. What he has not done is pay the full price of admission to share in the sort of history Monzon occupies.
It’s not really his fault that he hasn’t. Unification at Flyweight is difficult stuff. The division is highly regionalized and the beltholders in the division are, largely for almost forty years, regional champions. They fight at home, against names that can be marketed at home. There are exceptions, but not many. It makes the idea of a real ‘World’ champion at Flyweight mostly humorous.
Former WBC titlist and lineal World Champion, the still active Pongsaklek Wonjongkam of Thailand, faced similar obstacles.
Wonjongkam beat the record for defenses of the division’s lineal crown long held by the great Miguel Canto, setting a new mark at 17 from 2001-2007. It didn’t mean as much as it should have and how could it? Wonjongkam never faced Narvaez…or any other major titlist and will likely sit far outside the Hall of Fame even with his record run. Narvaez hasn’t faced any other titlists either and it matters as he attempts to now close in on Wonjongkam’s hollow 17.
They are not alone. None of the other men who’ve held belts in the division squared off with their titular brethren either. Notable titlists like Vic Darchinyan or Lorenzo Parra have had success during the Narvaez run, but not enough of the success came against the very best. Regardless of the business reasons behind it, or the rational belief that the fighters would have been fine with the fights, it just didn’t happen.
Monzon’s record doesn’t allow for such excuses at Middleweight or in Argentina. The sheer professionalism Narvaez has displayed in reaching the marks he has can be lauded without hyperbole. Given the total context, Boxing fans can identify when they’re being sold a bill of goods and they’ll be able to tell that here. Comparing what Narvaez has done to what Monzon did insults informed fans (that now includes every loyal reader reaching these syllables who wasn’t thinking about it before) and insults Monzon.
Neither Mozon nor Narvaez deserves that.
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com