Worst Choices! (He should've ducked him.)

[Willie Pep 229]

There is always much discussion as to who ducked whom, but what about the reverse, the guy they should have ducked, but didn't?

The one I always think of is Nino Benvenuti and the decision to take on Carlos Monzon.

When Benvenuti came into the 1970 season he had already defeated 7 of the top 10 Ring Magazine ranked middleweights (1969). He was pretty much in a position to choose anyone without there being any accusation of 'ducking' being thrown his way.

Benvenuti's team decision was to take on the weakest ranked fighter on the list, #10 ranked Carlos Monzon.

****, what a surprise! -- If Benvenuti had done the 'right thing' and given Griffith another shot, or Rodriguez a rematch, I suspect no one would have noticed he ducked Monzon.

Anyone else know of a 'he should've ducked him' decision?

[Thunderstruck]

There is always much discussion as to who ducked whom, but what about the reverse, the guy they should have ducked, but didn't?

The one I always think of is Nino Benvenuti and the decision to take on Carlos Monzon.

When Benvenuti came into the 1970 season he had already defeated 7 of the top 10 Ring Magazine ranked middleweights (1969). He was pretty much in a position to choose anyone without there being any accusation of 'ducking' being thrown his way.

Benvenuti's team decision was to take on the weakest ranked fighter on the list, #10 ranked Carlos Monzon.

****, what a surprise! -- If Benvenuti had done the 'right thing' and given Griffith another shot, or Rodriguez a rematch, I suspect no one would have noticed he ducked Monzon.

Anyone else know of a 'he should've ducked him' decision?

Norton fighting shavers and moorer fighting Tua

[Anthony342]

Holmes fighting Spinks perhaps with 20/20 hindsight.

[QueensburyRules]

Holmes fighting Spinks perhaps with 20/20 hindsight.

- -King blowing smoke up Lar's growing keister with Rocky beating LH champ Archie Moore for his 49th.

Thing is Rock beat every standing champ he faced, Walcott and Moore. Lar 0-6 against standing champs having won their belt in the ring if we include Brian Neilsons IBO belt which every bit as legit agewise as the WBO.

[smeck]

Yes, a lot of 20-20 hindsight to this. I'm sure George Foreman didn't expect Tommy Morrison to have such a disciplined plan of hitting and strolling away. He figured he'd do what Ray Mercer did to Tommy.

I give it a tie between two super-ego heroes, Muhammad Ali and Ray Leonard. 38 year-old Ali should never have been in the ring with Larry Holmes, and 40 year-old Leonard should've stayed away from tricky Hector Camacho.

[GhostofDempsey]

Jones rematching Tarver

Trinidad and De La Hoya vs. Hopkins, though I don't think anyone would say that either of them would be considered a "duck", but they didn't need to fight him.

JMM vs. Mayweather, he put himself at too much of a disadvantage.

Washed up Tyson vs. Lewis

[Willie Pep 229]

Here's one that has kind of a twist to it.

Sugar Ray Robinson probably should have 'ducked' Randy Turpin and it would likely have (at least in the States) gone unnoticed.

Robinson in 1951 was doing an overseas tour, (and hadn't loss since '43/LaMotta), fighting in Italy, France, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland, and ending his tour by dropping a 15 PTS to Turpin in GB.

Turpin was, at the time a European MW champion of some sort but I doubt SRR gets much flak back home if he skips Turpin.

Of course the twist legacy wise is that the loss to Turpin, and the subsequent regaining of the title via rematch, was the first of the dramas that helps make SRR so special today (add Basilo/Fullmer later).

But my guess is he probably could have walked away from Turpin and no one would have noticed.

[travestyny]

I think there were various entlties giving Patterson reasons to duck Liston, such as the NAACP.


It's good that he didn't, but wasn't so good for him in particular.

[Willie Pep 229]

In 1997 Terry Norris found himself in a good position, squeezed between Don King/Trinidad and Bob Arum/Del La Hoya, he was ready to land a mega fight.

He could pick his fight; Norris chose to throw in with Bob Arum and Del La Hoya. But Bob Arum wanted to double dip and forced Norris into a joint warm-up card in Atlantic City, with Del La Hoya defending his WBC WW title against Wilfredo Rivera and Norris defending his WBC Super WW title against a 14-4 fighter named Keith Mullings. (Mullings would end his career 16-8-1)

Norris L TKO 9/12

Del La Hoya next fight was with someone named Patrick Carpentier.

[Willie Pep 229]

I think there were various entlties giving Patterson reasons to duck Liston, such as the NAACP.


It's good that he didn't, but wasn't so good for him in particular.

Also the fact that Liston's manager 'Blinky' Palermo was at the time serving 20 years for fraud (in boxing) should have made the duck easy as well.

Cus D'Amoto had played the 'we won't fight the corrupt IBC/gangster fighter' card well through the late fifties, and kept Patterson away from Liston.

But they say Patterson was shamed by the duck and broke with D'Amto just so he could fight Liston.

Don't really know if that is true or not.