Óscar Bonavena

Óscar Bonavena
Data
Birth Name	Óscar Natalio Bonavena
Fight name	Ringo
Weight class	Heavyweight
nationality	Argentinian
birthday	September 25, 1942
place of birth	Buenos Aires
Date of death	May 22, 1976
Place of death	Virginia City
style	Left delivery
size	1.80 m
Combat Statistics
Struggles	68
Victories	58
Knockout victories	44
Defeats	9
draw	1
Profile in the BoxRec database

Óscar Natalio Bonavena (born September 25, 1942 in Buenos Aires , † May 22, 1976 in Virginia City ) was an Argentine heavyweight boxer who was active in the 1960s and 1970s.

Early career

Oscar Bonavena was born the fifth of seven poor children and was of Italian descent. Within his short amateur career, which comprised only 15 fights (13 knockout victories with one point loss), he became national champion. In 1963 he took part in the Pan American Games in São Paulo , Brazil, and made it to the semi-finals. Because of a bite attack in the shoulder of his American opponent and eventual tournament winner Lee Carr , the Argentine was not only disqualified, but he was also denied the chance to fight for the bronze medal.

He made his professional debut in 1964 and boxed from the very beginning of his boxer career in Argentina as well as in the USA, because the higher dollar exchange rate against the peso meant that even framework fights in the USA (partially) exceeded the stock exchanges of main fights in Argentina and thus to a relative wealth of the boxer. In the first year of his boxing career he was able to record eight successes in a row - without exception against build-up opponents or "Journeymen" of which Tom McNeely, whom Bonavena defeated by a TKO in the fifth round, was the best known. Already in his ninth fight he fought against world number boxer Zora Folley , lost as expected and even had to go down in the eighth round. The next eleven fights made Bonavena victorious again a. a. In 1965 he beat Gregorio Peralta in Argentina in front of a record crowd of 30,000 spectators at the Luna Park Stadium in Buenos Aires in the fifth round to be declared the unanimous point winner after 12 rounds. With this victory he was Argentine heavyweight champion. The following year he lost his second fight, this time against Jose Giorgetti by disqualification, but was able to defeat it unanimously on points in the subsequent revenge fight over 10 rounds.

World ranking boxer

In 1966 he defeated the world rankings Canadian George Chuvalo . In September 1966 he was committed as a build-up opponent for Joe Frazier in his twelfth professional fight. Bonavena get two knockdowns in the second round and he ultimately lost the fight only just on points (the fight verdict was a 2: 1 decision).

After Muhammad Ali was stripped of the world title in 1967, the WBA organized an elimination tournament for the vacant title. Bonavena initially defeated Karl Mildenberger on points in Frankfurt am Main in September after he had knocked the Germans down four times or had been counted; but lost against the eventual winner of the tournament Jimmy Ellis on points. Ellis scored two knockdowns in that fight.

A win in the rematch against Folley, whose career was slowly coming to an end, and a points win over the world rankings Leotis Martin enabled him to fight against Frazier again in 1968 for the competition for the NEW YORK STATE CROWN world title. He was unanimously defeated by the now experienced Frazier on points, but received a lot of praise from the international sports press and boxing fans, especially for his ability to absorb heavy blows from his opponent without affecting his morale.

In 1969 he defeated Norbert Grupe , who had little chance against the superior physique of his opponent and was stopped in the third round after he had gone down five times or had been counted.

In 1970 Muhammad Ali fought Bonavena after stopping Jerry Quarry six weeks earlier. Only in the last 15th lap could Ali send his technically limited but constantly attacking opponent to the ground three times. The fight was counted as TKO according to the THREE-KNOCKDOWN-RULE and was the only time that Bonavena lost a fight before the time. Ali had previously announced that he would knock Bonavena in the ninth round, but was hit hard by a counterattack by Bonavena himself.

Boxing style and historical relevance

Bonavena was a technically limited attack boxer who produced punches from the most varied and unusual movements. This irritated some technically superior boxers who had problems with such a style, especially since this type of boxing is often associated with unfairness. Bonavena was not a good tactician and often ignored the strategies of his coaches. He was an unpredictable boxer who, if underestimated, could cause unpleasant surprises for his opponents and had punch, stamina and “taker skills”. Because of these characteristics, he enjoyed a high degree of popularity with many boxing fans (also outside his home country), because he was a colorful character, both inside and outside the boxing ring, who polarized. So he often postponed the dates of his boxing matches or threatened to do so, in order to put pressure on the organizers and enforce his higher fee demands. In boxing history he is one of the most important South American heavyweight boxers of all time. Globally, he was a world number boxer who was able to assert himself in these for over 10 years without being able to win his groundbreaking fights.

Later career and death

In 1972 he was defeated by Floyd Patterson , whose career was in late autumn. Although he knocked Patterson to the ground in the fourth round and this was counted, the American was still able to win the points. In 1974 the aspiring Ron Lyle Bonavena scored . After this defeat, Bonavena won seven fights against opposing opponents and achieved that he was still in the top 20 of the world rankings (7th place in the WBC world rankings) when he was murdered in 1976. At his funeral, which could only be compared to that of the tango musician Carlos Gardel - in terms of size and attention in the Argentine public - 150,000 mourners were present, including a former Argentine president, General Alejandro Agustín Lanusse , the then reigning boxing world champion Carlos Monzón and Víctor Galíndez (a former sparring partner of Bonavena), the ex-boxing world champions Pascual Pérez and Horacio Acavallo as well as celebrities from film, TV, theater, art and sport. Bonavena's body was publicly laid out in Luna Park in Buenos Aires.

Web links

• Óscar Bonavena in the BoxRec database (English)

Source

1. ↑ the biting infraction not only cost Bonavena the bout with Carr, but also the chance at a Pan American medal as the disqualification gave the bronze medal to Uruguay's Raul Gruttulini in the four-man field. Incedently, Bonavena and Carr met in the pro ranks with Oscar scoring a third round KO at April 20, 1968 in Buenos Aires . In: Boxing Illustrated , November 1976 issue (obituary for Oscar Bonavena).
2. ^ Bonavena returned to New York late in 1970 for a meeting with comebacking Muhammad Ali. Ali finally prevailed but only after some anxious moments at 2:03 of the 15th round and final session under the three-knockdowns-in-one-round ruling. Boxing Illustrated November 1976
3. ↑ Ali had predicted a ninth-round win and when he tagged Bonavena on cue, he moved in for the finish. Instead Bonavena threw a desperate left hook that shook Ali all the way down to his toes. “I was numb all over,” he admitted later. With the crowd shouting for 'Ringo' (Bonavena was said to resemble the Beatles drummer Ringo Starr) Ali danced away from danger. Boxing Memorabilia.com Interview with Muhammad Ali after his fight with Bonavena
4. ↑ the closest comparison was the farewell given 40 years ago to alltime favorite tangosinger Carlos Gardel. The veiling brought a crowd of 150,000 to the Luna park Stadium .... Bonavena, a fighter, received a farewell of a hero. The Ring September 1976 edition by Mario A. Gru Obituary for Oscar Bonavena