The story of the late boxer Carlos Monzón (1942-1995), world champion in the middleweight category, actor, popular idol and femicide convicted of the murder of his wife Alicia Muníz, regained interest in Argentina after the recent publication of the book «Monzón, la definitive biography ».
«Monzón occupies one of the most important places in Argentine history. For the people he is the greatest Argentine boxer of all time. Monzón was the sensation of invincibility, “the author of the book, Carlos Irusta, a renowned journalist from boxing who accompanied the fighter during his career.
On November 7, 1970, Monzón obtained the title of world champion in the middleweight category. He successfully defended it 14 times until his retirement on August 29, 1977.
«I don’t usually make comparisons with other Argentine athletes, but he was a great one. (Emanuel) Ginobili for part of a team, like (Diego) Maradona or (Lionel) Messi. (Juan Manuel) Fangio, beyond his extraordinary quality, depended on the technical team. Monzón, on the other hand, was alone, “said Irusta.
«It was him, the gloves, the ring and the rival, nothing more. It is difficult to establish any type of comparison, but he was one of the true greats of Argentine sport, “he added.
Irusta said that he once spoke with Bernard Hopkins and that the American told him that he would have liked to fight with Monzón to “see who was better.”
He also interviewed Mike Tyson, who admitted that he had “a tremendous admiration” for Monzón.
“He was a real international champion,” Irusta noted.
In “Monzón, the definitive biography”, published by Planeta, the author not only narrates the sporting career of the fighter but also the cases of sexist violence in which he starred and the femicide of the Uruguayan model and actress Alicia Muníz, with whom he was married and had a son.
“His private life occupies a lot in the book because he had a two-year relationship with (the Argentine actress) Susana Giménez, after his victory against (José) ‘Mantequilla’ Napoles (on February 9, 1974),” he explained .
In addition, he starred in several films, one of them precisely with Giménez, who years later publicly denounced that Monzón “got very aggressive” and that he even beat her.
After separating from Giménez, he married Muñiz, whom he murdered on February 14, 1988 by beating her and throwing her off the balcony.
«I tried to be as objective as possible. Do not load ink either for or against and, above all things, lean a lot on the texts of the time and on my experiences, because I also lived through the whole trial “, said Irusta.
«I relied on newspaper clippings to make it as sterile as possible. Neither for nor against, which is very difficult too. I dealt with the facts, just the facts, ”he added.
Monzón was sentenced to eleven years in prison and died in a road accident on January 8, 1995 after a temporary release from prison to go to work.
22 years after his death, the recently published book revives the story of the boxer and challenges a society that has a femicide condemned as one of its greatest sports idols. EFE.