Somewhere tonight, the late great Carlos Monzón—1942-1995—is smiling down upon his fellow Argentinian boxer Marcos Chino Maidana, who spoiled the coming-out party of the over-hyped "future golden boy", Victor Ortiz.
These two young warriors—Maidana, age 25, and Ortiz, 22—came out with guns blazing right from the onset, and with little regard for defense, took turns wobbling and knocking each other to the canvas for almost six full rounds.
In the end, as in most gunfights, the winner is the man who's the most willing to go down swinging—guns drawn—in a fearless blaze of glory, rather than to give up, surrender, or fall upon his sword.
In the words of HBO analyst Max Kellerman, "Ortiz, after being cut, dropped, and exhausted, and facing an opponent who refused to lose, gave up the fight in round six."
Let's face it—boxing is a bloodsport; the more blood, the better.
Its also a contest where millions of dollars can be made or lost in a single blow.
Oftentimes we, the fans, are the ones who feel the most cheated if we are forced to listen to a rich, over-hyped fighter explain to a post-fight interviewer that he is too young to get beat up, and would rather step out than be knocked out.
Especially after a (well-rehearsed) HBO tear-jerking pre-fight speech, regarding his horrible upbringing, and how he was badly abused by his father; an accusation that his father—on camera—flatly denied.
On the other side of the coin, Maidana showed the type of heart and courage that has been evident in fighters from his country for decades.
No tougher fighters existed than Argentinian boxing greats like heavyweight Oscar Bonavena, or Carlos Baldimir, Luis Firpo, or the former lightweight champion Jorge Rodrigo "La Hiena (The Hyena)" Barrios.
The fearless Monzon was adored all over Argentina during his boxing career, which included 14 title defenses of his world middleweight championship.
On the independent computer-based ranking of boxrec.com, he is listed as the third best middleweight boxer of all time, after Marvin Hagler and Sugar Ray Robinson.
Monzon died in a violent car crash in 1995.
Certainly, it's far too soon to suggest that Maidana's name should be mentioned in the same breath with these greats; but who knows, with more courageous boxing displays resembling the one he demonstrated tonight at the Staples Center, the sky could be the limit for the young Argentinian warrior.
“Boxing is smoky halls and kidneys battered until they bleed.” Roger Kahn
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