Although we will never forget the tragic end of Carlos Monzon’s life – alcohol and drugs, murder, prison, his own death in a car accident – no one who saw Monzon fight could pass by and think how no man could ever hurt him in the world. ring.

A true God in Argentina before the murder of his third wife, Alicia Muniz in 1988, “Escopeta” is unfortunately best remembered today for the deadly hands he used in a disgustingly illegal manner. Monzon will spend the rest of his days behind bars.

However, as a fighter, champion and ring legend, Monzon is second to none. It was on this day in 1970 that Monzon, a seasoned 67-3-9 at the age of 28, met an Italian idol, current middleweight champion Nino Benvenuti, who at the age of 32 had achieved an astonishing 82-4-1. No one in Italy had even heard of Monzon, and no one outside Argentina wanted to give the challenger a chance.

But Monzon, whose eyes were perhaps deeper and darker than those of any player in the history of the sport this side of Roberto Duran, was vastly underrated. Monzon was full of fire, fuel, power, hate/love and lust. In miniature, the talented Benvenuti had no idea who or what he was drafted with.

To the absolute shock of all of Rome, Monzon went after the defending champion Playboy from the opening bell and never came close to giving up. With his long arms, bone-breaking strength, and very real disgust at the thought of ever losing to another man, Monzon became Benvenuti’s worst enemy. The defending champion, former 154-year-old ruler and two-time middleweight boss, was soon forced to look towards the referee, needing aid or a clue as to what he had been dragged into.

It was a dog fight, and Monzon was the Pitbull to Benvenuti’s Greyhound. Only there was nowhere to run.

Monzon won every round, and then in the 12th, the former Argentinian street urchin scored the most devastating KO of the year (perhaps apart from some of the killer work done by Bob Foster at featherlight heavyweight). A huge right hand landed squarely on the head of the tiring Benvenuti, sending the soon-to-be former champion reeling (literally). Somehow, Benvenuti got up, but he had had enough and the fight was over.

All of Italy was shocked and silenced.

It looked like Monzon, who still had a few months of his prime left, was in for a long reign. His reign was truly a reign of terror – with at least 14 championship titles.

Monzon may have to be considered the best middleweight of all time.

To this day, when it comes to total, awesome, leave-your-defense-at-home heavyweight slugfests, the 1976 epic between George Foreman and Ron Lyle still tops most X-rated fans’ list of best films. Four Knockdowns, Five rounds of back and forth still send shivers down your spine, even after repeated viewings.

But 25 years ago, there was a killer “I punch you, you punch me” heavyweight fight that almost rivaled the sheer fun of the Foreman-Lyle affair. On November 6, 1999, Derrick Jefferson met Maurice Harris in a fight at Atlantic City’s Convention Hall, televised on HBO – and what a thriller it truly was.

Jefferson, who was 31 at the time and had a record of 21-01, against 23-year-old Harris, who had a fraudulent record of 16-9-2. Together these two gave us something so special. Larry Merchant was emotional as he confessed his love to the winner of the fight!

They both hit the deck in an incredible second round, Harris twice, Jefferson once. The fight could easily have been over by now, which is why both men were so stunned. But the war continued and the momentum kept changing. Jefferson, a bigger guy at 246 pounds to Harris’ 211, had trouble with some of the cute moves Harris was using. Then, after someone witnessed the furious trading, “Freight Train” Jefferson attacked Harris again, in round six, with body shots doing the damage. Once again, Harris, known as “Mo Bettah,” stood up.

But then, in the same round, in highlight-reminiscent fashion, Jefferson pinned Harris to the mat with a powerful left hook to the head, which caused Harris’s head to spin and a bomb to send his mouthpiece into orbit, with Harris lying flat on his back. What an amazing fight it was and what a breathtaking KO Jefferson finished it off. Ring Magazine awarded the winner the 1999 KO of the Year award.

Years later, both fighters were kind enough to recall the ESB fight.

“He showed heart in that fight,” Jefferson said of Harris. “When he went down twice, I thought he would stay down. But this [Harris getting back up] shows what condition it was in. I watched the fight maybe two days later and I thought, “Wow! We really wanted it. That’s when you see it, the action, the audience reaction and how much they like it. That’s when you know……. I think the fans appreciate our courage, our desires and our heart.

Harris also gained respect from fans.

“It was a knock-down and drag-out fight,” Harris said of the shootout with Jefferson. “We are both putting our souls on the line. I’m very joyful that I came out of that fight alive because he could have killed me – I could have killed him.”

Amen.

We can never know for sure, and we may have no reason to even ask, but it’s entirely possible that if heavyweight legend George Foreman hadn’t done what he did on that day a full 30 years ago – and that would have ruined the odds and would have done the same Michael Moorer’s defending heavyweight champion “Large George” would never, ever find complete peace after what happened to him in Africa some 20 years earlier.

We all joyfully celebrate the 50th anniversary of the events of October 30 in Zaire, when the incomparable Muhammad Ali shocked the planet by beheading the 25-year-old Foreman to regain what was unjustly taken from him in 1967: namely the heavyweight world championship. Ali’s majesty still resonates, and rightly so.

But now it’s George’s turn.

Wearing the same swimming trunks that his much slimmer body wore in Africa, and, crazy enough, Ali’s former – and only – trainer, Angelo Dundee, this time working on his side, the 45-year-old Foreman challenged the undefeated two-division champion southpaw, Michael Moorer.

Moorer, who forged much of his talent in the hallowed halls of the Kronk gym, defeated Evander Holyfield to become heavyweight king. Foreman won our hearts (again) by pushing Holyfield to the end in his previous attempt to regain the title; a once grim ghetto bad guy losing a 12 round decision. Moorer went one better, picking up a close decision victory over Holyfield in 1994.

Now, in a fight dubbed “One for the Ages,” Foreman has taken us all back in time.

Heavily overmatched, overshot and faster than the 26-year-old Moorer (“George’s sweatshirts are older than Moorer,” joked HBO’s Larry Merchant), Foreman nonetheless groomed this first, and perhaps still, hotshot for the fall. Foreman was certainly being overtaken, but Moorer was made to work difficult. And the defending champion was gradually being attacked by Foreman and his still deadly hands.

Moorer spoke before the fight about his desire to become the first man to knock Foreman out – to knock out the beloved folk hero. Ali did the job largely through attrition tactics, but Moorer wanted to beat Foreman into true oblivion. And this desire costs him. That and Foreman’s clever, always astute tactics.

Teddy Atlas screamed at Moorer to stay away from Foreman’s right hand, but Moorer wasn’t listening. Or he was, but he had his own plan in mind (remember, the stubborn Moorer, in his up-and-down war with Bert Cooper, as he later said, you might say, boasted that the tactics that gave him victory after he was dressed was his own, not Emanuel Steward’s).

In any case, Moorer made a perilous mistake by straying a little too far into Foreman territory; into his striking range. Foreman landed a stiff right hand to the head and then another, a ’70s bomb that George was holding, that landed a little lower on Moorer’s head. On the chin. And just like that, Moorer was lying on the mat and seemed to be looking up, trying to figure out what the hell happened.

“It’s happened,” roared HBO’s Jim Lampley. Foreman knelt in the corner, thanking his Master.

Today, 30 years later, fight fans remain grateful and moved by what Foreman gave us in Las Vegas. Ali came full circle by beheading Foreman in 1974, and then, 20 years later, Foreman himself came full circle by beheading Moorer.

The best memories.