This was one of the best boxing match many fans of Muhammad Ali definitely won't forget, The echo "Chicken, chicken", made by the Argentine really provoked One of the Boxing Great, in the '70s it was unthinkable to hear someone ignore Muhammad Ali, but an Argentine boxer dared and took one of the best boxers of all time out of the box. This is Óscar “Ringo” Bonavena [58 (44KO) -9-1], who, on December 7, 1970 got into the ring against the American boxer and gave a show that lasted 15 rounds and had the Louisville native as the winner. .
Six days before the fight, the fighters came face-to-face at a medical check-up that saw ample ammunition of insults and feigned blows in front of the cameras. "Why didn't you go to the Army? You are a chicken. Twit, twit, twit. Gallina, fagot !! ”, the Argentine expressed in English, while calling Clay (already at that time known as Muhammad Ali) to his rival. On his part, the American replied: "In the ninth round I'm going to tear you apart."
The days passed, Monday, December 7, arrived and with a Madison Square Garden stadium packed with 19,417 spectators, who left a collection at the windows of $ 615,491, everything was ready for the war between the two heavyweights. The Argentine entered with a gown in the colors of his country's flag and navy blue pants. For the part of him, Ali did it in red and white. As expected, the fight had a clear dominance, the former world champion (who until then remained undefeated) won the first eight laps thanks to his agility, jabs and great combination of blows, which were too much for the Buenos Aires native. Aires.
However, "Ringo" endured the blows and managed to reach the ninth round, a chapter in which Ali predicted that he would win, but to the surprise of the American, it was Bonavena who prevailed in those three minutes, and even Ali was on the canvas, but not because of the Argentine's merit, but rather that Muhammad launched a blow that did not reach its destination and ended up on the ground due to the impulse. In Argentina there is still talk that "Ringo" threw Ali. By the 10th round, everything was back to normal and the American was again clearly superior. The last round came, the 15th, and Bonavena, knowing that he no longer had a chance, came out with everything to knock out the native of Louisville.
Faced with the desperation of the Argentine to want to turn him over, Ali hit a left hook to the jaw of "Ringo", who visited the canvas. After that, Bonavena fell twice more from Ali's blows. The former world champion got the victory by KO in the last round. The Ali-Bonavena fight had a great impact in Argentina and achieved ratings peaks of up to 80 points. A figure that was surpassed 20 years later, in the semifinal of the World Cup in Italy '90, where the local faced the Argentine national team. 40 years have passed since that fight, but in Argentina “Ringo” is still remembered as the boxer who faced one of the best in history and was able to endure 15 rounds.
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