RETRO BOUT: (CA.1950’s)

Posted by Simguy on Friday, 12-May-2000 19:16:44

Before: Controversy and fight fixing aside, Marilyn Monroe was a stylish defensive technician and a savvy  judge of talent with an uncanny knack for exploiting an opponent’s weaknesses. Coming in, Sophia Loren was thought to be a rare mis-step by the carefully managed champ--Loren’s size and power would make her a feared an oft-ducked opponent for decades--but Marilyn was strangely blasé about the Italian superstar. Focusing on Sophia’s slow hands and feet, non-existent defense, and relative lack of big fight experience. Marilyn Monroe forecast an easy victory, a feeling few of her backers shared when this fight was announced. Marilyn red hipster bikini, Sophia in tank style green and black one piece.

During R1-3: Marilyn put on a boxing clinic in these rounds using her judgment of time and distance to out jab the bigger girl, lure Sophia across the ring, and capitalize on right hand counters as Loren would consistently punch herself off balance. Marilyn’s nibbling offense was not meant to hurt Sophia, merely to make her tentative and keep her off balance. Monroe’s primary focus was defense, slipping underneath Loren’s ponderous strokes, turning and rolling with punches, and utilizing tactical clinches whenever Sophia’s rushes drove her to the ropes. All three rounds to Marilyn, leaving a frustrated Sophia Loren sputtering after each will o’ the wisp performance.

R4,5: Monroe continued to make Sophia spend her reserves, turning into and underneath Loren’s punches, making the bigger girl miss by inches, or connect with glancing force on a shoulder or practiced open glove catch. Not moving much, but always circling left or right, constantly shifting upper body. Marilyn blunted Loren’s offense, and in these rounds set down on  a hard right hand which began to snap back Loren’s head effectively, often causing the big Italian to stumble forward a step with blinking eyes and quivering thighs. There was no doubt but that Monroe was chewing Sophia up in these rounds, picking her apart with punches that had an accumulated effect on the bigger girl. Loren’s offense, never a whirlwind at its best, slowed to a sporadic crawl, and after 5, she began to breath heavily through the mouth, and seemed hesitant to punch bas the blonde continued to chip away.

R6: Monroe’s best round saw her dictate from bell to bell, jabbing the big girl’s belly, then sliding out, slowly tempting Loren to lower her thick-armed guard. Midway through the round, Monroe working off the low jab, crossed Loren up, and caught the big girl with ba slashing right hand on the ear as Sophia crossed her arms across her stomach. For the first time in the fight, Loren stumbled backwards, clearly hurting, and Monroe stepped with her, keeping that left shoulder and working hooks to Loren’s soft midriff, curling rights to the Italians kidneys. It was a patient Marilyn Monroe at work, calmly putting her body into Sophia, propping the big girl into the ropes, then pulling out to bang at the body. Loren was helpless, on her heels and ineffective--hands at her cheeks as Marilyn’s fists beat heavily to her midsection.

R7: Sophia Loren came out in disarray--flinching and pivoting nervously midring as Monroe circled, Jabbing between the hips and coming over the top with zesty right hands--Monroe was loose and relaxed, her slashing offense keeping her head moving and free of reprisal as the bigger girl stood straight up. Keeping up the counterclockwise movement, Monroe began to find a crisp right hand, answering Loren’s pawing left with stunning force to the mouth--and Sophia cracked, Several rights in success had the big girl reeling, and Monroe felt the moment. Ducking and coming up with right hands on the jaw, Marilyn punched Sophia in a groggy semi circle and as Loren reached desperately to clinch--a final chopping right hand found her eye, sending the big girl crashing to the canvas. Down for the first time in her career, Sophia Loren lay sobbing on her back, exhausted and beaten. Unable or unwilling to beat the count, she gave it up to Marilyn Monroe, who strutted the ring with fists held high. KO7 Marilyn.

After: Loren apologists tend to discount this fight, noting Marilyn had huge edges in experience and boxing ability, and chalking it up to nothing more than a learning curve bout on the way to greatness for the Italian star. But Sophia never looked good against slick boxers she couldn’t hammer into submission early, and even her staunchest fans recognize that Sophia wasn’t the same fighter after 5 rounds. The loss to Marilyn came early enough that it receives scant mention in the assessment of Loren’s career, but the flaws revealed by the blonde bombshell would dog Sopphia throughout even her best years, and perhaps prevented her from being mentioned in the same breath with history’s best.

Reposted by Archer 11/30/11.