Puerto Rico's Forgotten Lightweight...Pedro Montanez

History can be a cruel judge, especially when it comes to evaluating the fistic merits of boxers who never held a world title. Some spectacular performers have managed to slip from our consciousness with the passage of time, this, in spite of the multitude of media available to today's society, and the huge database of information that is on the internet. One such boxer is Pedro Montanez, who re-entered my sphere of contemplation while doing research on Puerto Rican boxers in preparation for Miguel Cotto’s successful title defense against Shane Mosley. It is much easier for an elite fighter to win a title in today's era of excessive weight divisions, and these titles have become even more diluted through the acceptance of four sanctioning bodies. There was a time when the planet only had eight real champions, instead of a current populace of world champions that exceeds sixty. It wasn't as if Montanez was not good enough to become a champion, but he had the unenviable task of trying to supplant champions who currently reside in the International Boxing Hall of Fame, one of whom would have his bust carved on the Mount Rushmore of boxing if such a thing existed. Despite never winning a world title, it would be wrong not to rate Montanez as one of the ten or twelve best Puerto Rican boxers of all-time. If you break it down even further, I would rate Montanez as one of the three best lightweights the island nation ever produced. This, a full 67 years after his last fight. Timing was his only real problem. Montanez defeated a slew of contenders, and bested world champions Lou Ambers, Jackie "Kid" Berg, Freddie Cochrane, and Frankie Klick. But he never defeated them while they held the title. Boxers were not protected in the 1930's, and so it was with a 16-year old Montanez when he turned pro after a handful of amateur bouts. This accounts for Montanez racking up nearly 50% of his career losses in his first 14 fights. Seven months into his pro boxing career, Montanez had suffered three decision defeats (two in Venezuela). It took nine years and 89 more fights before Montanez would lose three bouts again. Montanez was a quick study, and an aggressive fighter who readily accepted loads of punishment to get at his opponent. At 5'5 he came in low, using his muscular upper body to bore into opponents and unleash damaging hooks from either hand. In style and pace, Montanez can best be compared with Henry Armstrong, but he lacked Armstrong's inhuman stamina. His style also earned him the nickname of "The Bull of Cayey", and made him a crowd favorite wherever he appeared – which was all over the world. The first eight ring appearances of Montanez took place in Puerto Rico, after which he moved to Venezuela to fight for two years. There he scored his first major victory, defeating former German Olympian Franz Duebbers. He also picked up the Venezuelan lightweight title, and on his return to Puerto Rico did the same there by defeating Emilio Morris. His layover in Puerto Rico was brief, and Montanez took his brand of fistic terror to a whole new continent. In April of 1934, Montanez arrived in Spain, promptly knocking out his first seven opponents. The wins in Spain caught the attention of American manager Lew Burston, who often worked out of Paris and had close ties with the heads of Madison Square Garden. He quickly signed Montanez, and moved him north to knock out four French fighters in Paris. The duo then crossed the channel, and scored two more stoppage victories in England. In Italy, the kayo streak ended, and Montanez was held to a dubious draw (after scoring the only knockdown of the fight) against naturally bigger Saverio Turiello. Before leaving Italy, Montanez impressed the local populace by knocking out former Olympic champion Carlo Orlandi in his hometown. Some reports claimed that Orlandi was hospitalized for nearly a month after the bout. The Orlandi victory was Montanez' last in Europe (he departed with a 19-0-1 record and 17 KOs), and he headed to America to face the best fighters it had to offer. Montanez’ reputation arrived before him, and his winning ways in Europe were given due respect in America. Montanez had elevated himself to the position of fifth rated lightweight in the world by The Ring magazine upon arrival in 1935. Again, a former Olympian was victimized, as this time Montanez mauled former AAU champion and Olympic silver medalist Steve Halaiko over ten rounds. It was an impressive American debut, and those who expected Montanez's record to suffer after entering tougher American rings were sorely disappointed, as Montanez ripped off a 29 fight winning streak - an exhibit of boxing that led him to a world title shot in just under two years time. The first American name to fall to Montanez was former champion Frankie Klick via ten round decision, followed by a ten round decision over future champion Lou Ambers (knocking Ambers down in the first round). The pair would meet again with a world title on the line. A second kayo of former champion Freddie 'Red' Cochrane was the impetus for a world title shot at lightweight. It also landed Montanez on the cover of the June 1937 Ring magazine. Time magazine wrote about Montanez, "He had exhibited the agility of a hellion dancing on hot coals, a punch as persuasive as a red-hot pitchfork." Montanez drew big crowds, so it was a natural that he would be a challenger on the biggest fight card of the century. He squared off against former victim Lou Ambers (who had taken the title from Tony Canzoneri a month after losing to Montanez), in the famous "Carnival of Champions" promotion. On that night, over a third of all the world titles would be contested. In their first encounter, Montanez had been able to push Ambers backwards, negating Ambers’ own aggression by using superior upper body strength. This time around Ambers chose not to engage directly, and he maneuvered and shifted from side to side. The tactic caught Montanez off guard, and allowed Ambers to use Montanez’ forward momentum against him. The New Times commented, "At every turn the shifty, unorthodox Ambers was the master." While the NY Times saw it as a wide victory, the man closest to the action scored the bout a draw. The two ringside judges disagreed with the referee, casting their votes in favor of Montanez. Some observers thought Montanez aggression was not properly rewarded. Weight making difficulties reportedly kept Montanez from performing at his best as well. Montanez was, naturally, disappointed in is failure to win the world title, but he rebounded well to go undefeated in his next 22 fights. That winning streak covered two years, during which Montanez was still considered a top three contender. Montanez’ quest for another title shot was derailed by the popular Ambers, whose grueling three fight series with Henry Armstrong captured the public’s imagination. In that series the title changed hands three times, leaving little time for another challenger to step in. Just as that duo was finishing up their trilogy, Montanez lost to Davey Day via a horribly cut eye in a fight he was dominating. Montanez could no longer make the lightweight limit anymore either. A year later, a second title was in the offing, but Montanez would have to battle a fistic legend in his prime. Montanez faced a mirror image of himself in Henry Armstrong, who was making the sixth defense of his title. The expected fireworks developed quickly, and neither man backed away from the intense exchanges. The New York Times reported, "For savagery and bruising fighting, virtually all of it displayed by the irrepressible Armstrong, this was a fight that has seldom been excelled." Montanez battled bravely, and there was little to separate the boxers in the first three rounds. At welterweight though, Montanez simply did not have the right combination of speed and strength. He was decked for the first time ever in the fourth round, and crumbled for the final time in a ball of exhaustion at the end of the eighth round. Truth be told, the pugilistic odometer of Montanez was at its end for the Armstrong fight. He gave everything he had, and went out on his shield. He returned from the damaging loss nine months later (the longest layoff of his career), only to lose to run-of-the-mill George Martin by decision. Even though Montanez was still only 26 year old, he felt he was through as a serious contender and retired. To his credit, he never returned to the ring, even with the onset of World War II allowing him to enter a depleted pool of boxers. The former contender was still young enough to try his hand at his first athletic passion, but decided to use his ring earnings to enter business instead of bull fighting. He still kept an active hand in boxing, training local youngsters and other aspiring boxers. After an initial backlash by fans for his losing two title shots, Montanez remained a celebrity until his death. He owned some rental properties, and operated a popular café. In his house he had over 200 pictures of himself with celebrities like Celia Cruz, Joe Louis, Jersey Joe Walcott, Cantinflas, and many Puerto Rican politicians seeking his support. A newly erected stadium in his hometown of Cayey was named after him. A final tribute to his career came in 2006, when he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota. Sadly, that honor came ten years too late, as Montanez passed away, at age 82, in 1996. This honor does make up for some of the unintended slights history brought upon him. Unfortunately, since his underreported induction, Montanez is again judged more for a lack of titles, than a lack of talent.