Oscar Bonavena: Difference between revisions

{{shortShort description|Argentine boxer (1942–1976)}}

|nationality= Argentine

|death_place=[[SparksMustang, Nevada]], U.S.

'''Oscar Natalio''' "'''Ringo'''" '''Bonavena''' (September 25, 1942 – May 22, 1976) was an Argentine [[heavyweight]] [[professional boxing|professional boxer]] with a career record of 58 wins, 9 losses and 1 draw. A rugged, wild-swinging puncher, he was nicknamed "Ringo" because of his [[The Beatles|Beatles]] haircut, and enjoyed professional success in both Argentina and the United States. He is remembered for giving [[Joe Frazier]] and [[Muhammad Ali]] hard fought bouts.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}

Oscar Natalio Bonavena was born in [[Buenos Aires]] to two Italian immigrants. <ref>{{citationcite web |last=Fraga |first=Ruben |title=Cuando mataron a Oscar "Ringo" Bonavena |url=https://www.elciudadanoweb.com/cuando-mataron-a-oscar-ringo-bonavena/ |publisher=El Ciudadano needed|access-date=20 January 20132020 |date=25 May 2018 |quote=Oscar Natalio Bonavena nació el viernes 25 de septiembre de 1942 en el barrio porteño de Boedo y fue el séptimo hijo de los nueve que tuvo el matrimonio de inmigrantes italianos formado por Vicente Bonavena y Dominga Grillo.}}</ref> He was a professional boxer, ArgentinianArgentine and South American champion. He also participated in several ArgentinianArgentine TV programs such as the [[Pepe Biondi]] Show.

Bonavena began his early career in [[New York City]] under the management of World War II hero and dentist Marvin Goldberg. He was known as "The Argentine Strong-Boy".{{citation needed|date=JanuaryJuly 20132022}}

HisFollowing his pro debut was on February 1, 1964. He, soonhe racked up a quick string of early knockouts, but was overmatched early,. sometimesSometimes fighting twice a month, andhe lost by a decision in February 1965, in only his 15th contest, to thenthe highly rated [[Zora Folley]]. Bonavena was in only his 15th contest and was far too inexperienced to thentake really tackleon a top veteran like Folley. It was a one sided contest with Bonavena getting up off the deck from a wicked right hand. Even courageous Oscar looked discouraged and shaken at times in the later rounds. However, threeThree years later with far more experience and training he won their rematch by decision.<ref>actual fight video & commentary on Utube</ref>

After that, he returnedReturning to Argentina, where his winning and knockout streak continued. But inIn mid -1966 he was enticed back to New York forwhere the free-swinging Bonavena ran into trouble outside the ring. He called Muhammad Ali a matchblack with[[kangaroo]], ruggedand contendera [[Georgecoward|chicken]] Chuvalofor [[draft dodging]].{{citation needed|date=JanuaryWhen, 2013}}much later, he saw Ali seated ringside at the [[George Foreman]]–[[Ken Norton]] fight, he went over and started a big slanging match.

The free-swinging Bonavena soon ran into trouble outside the ring. He called Muhammad Ali a black [[kangaroo]] and even a [[coward|chicken]] for [[draft dodging]]. Ali was furious. Oscar was one of the few people to upstage Ali in pre-fight press conferences. When, much later, he saw Ali seated ringside at the [[George Foreman]]&ndash;[[Ken Norton]] fight, he went over and started a big slanging match. In his pre-fight press conference with Frazier, Bonavena needled effectively by implying that Frazier had a personal hygiene problem. He would start sniffing and grimace. Lawsuits were brought about by reporters with broken cameras; and other such "colorful" behavior. He was always volatile, as trainers soon discovered.<ref>Brunt, S., Facing Ali: The Opposition Weighs in, {{ISBN|0-676-97351-5}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20121106040524/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,904609-1,00.html Sport: Two Down, One to Go], Time</ref>

Bonavena first came to wide public attention after a fine performance: defeating rated contender and Canadian champion [[George Chuvalo]], boxing technically better than expected, and later going the distance against the young hard-hitting great [[Joe Frazier]]. In this, their first fight, Bonavena had the future champion down twice in the second round before Frazier rallied to win by decision in the 10th round.{{citation needed|date=OctoberJuly 20152022}}

In 1967, after the [[World Boxing Association]] stripped [[Muhammad Ali]] of the title for refusing to be [[Conscription|inducted]] into the U.S. military, Bonavena participated in that sanctioning body's 1967 tournament to crown a new heavyweight champion. In a strong performance he decked favoured European champion [[Karl Mildenberger]] four times,<ref>Ring Mag & online boxing records</ref> winning by a decision in [[Frankfurt]], [[West Germany]]. But he was himself knocked down twice and clearly outboxed by eventual tournament winner [[Jimmy Ellis (boxer)|Jimmy Ellis]] in the semi-finals in [[Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville]], losing by unanimous decision in an upset. Many deemed it the best win of Ellis's career.<ref>Ring magazine</ref> Incidentally, Bonavena had been scheduled to fight Ali in Tokyo in May 1967, but the bout was not to be when Ali was stripped of his title. They'd match later.{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}

[[File:Susana Giménez y Ringo Bonavera.jpg|thumb|BonaveraBonavena with actress [[Susana Giménez]] in 1970.]]

The following year, in 1968, after outpointing [[Leotis Martin]], he got a rematch with Frazier for the heavyweight title in [[Philadelphia]]. After a grueling fifteen rounds Bonavena lost the rematch by decision, fighting more defensively than previous. He did leaveleft with a seriously battered face, as photographed in the Ring magazine. HoweverIn 1969, he hadgot a draw in a rematch with talented [[Gregorio Peralta]], who he'd outpointed four years earlier for the wonArgentine respecttitle.{{citation needed|date=OctoberJuly 20152022}}

In December 1970, he fought Ali at Madison Square Garden, in the former champ's second bout after his three-year layoff. Bonavena absorbed punishment throughout but fought well, getting through with various head and body punches. With just under 1:30 left in the 15th and final round, Ali caught Oscar rushing in and decked him with a perfectly placed left hook. Bonavena got up, but was clearly not fully recovered. Ali decked him twice more, and the fight was automatically stopped under the three knockdown rule, giving Ali a TKO (technical knockout). The ending was somewhat controversial, as Ali stood over Bonavena as Bonavena was getting up, never going to a neutral corner as the rules of boxing require, which allowed Ali to quickly knockdown Bonavena twice more and automatically end the fight. After the second knockdown, the referee appears to be attempting to guide Ali to a neutral corner, but Ali brushes the referee's arm away and pursues a wobbly Bonavena.<ref>https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YhofAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wqYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2537,871414 {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ySyW0rfYPisC&pg=PA102&lpg=PA102&dqq=ali+bonavena+%22neutral+corner%22&sourcepg=bl&otsPA102 |title =51Bj39Iw2q&sig=3kiPcP1JXLBYon31QTo9Dgm-_z0&hl=en&ei=Qzh9TpTZMqTT0QXn7dAD&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage</ref> The knockoutFight byof Alithe wasCentury: theAli onlyvs. timeFrazier inMarch Bonavena's8, career1971|isbn he= lost9780470178638|last1 by= aArkush|first1 knockout.{{citation= neededMichael|date =October 20152007-09-24}}</ref>

After the loss to Ali in 1970, he had a brutally tough match with underrated [[Alvin Lewis (boxer)|Alvin Lewis]], being decked multiple times but eventually winning by disqualification. Bonavena fought intermittently for the next few years. A gregarious party man, he enjoyed life fullyto its fullest, at the cost of his boxing career.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}

Eventually losses to [[Floyd Patterson]] in 1972 and [[Ron Lyle]] in 1974 effectively putrelegated him to lower ranking contender status, althoughthough he did well enough in both these matches. In the Patterson fight he broke his left hand early, possibly after decking Patterson in the fourth, and remained an advancing threat to the final bell. It was around 1973 that a possible match with a then on the riserising [[Ken Norton]] was being planned but, unfortunately for fans, it never materialisedmaterialized.<ref>on line boxing archives</ref>

On February 26, 1976, an overweight and sluggish Bonavena fought what would be his last fight, winning a ten-round decision over the unranked [[Billy Joiner]] in Reno.<ref name="Farrell">{{cite newsmagazine |first=Barry|last=Farrell|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b-MCAAAAMBAJ|title=The Killing At the Notorious Mustang Ranch|publishermagazine=''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|date=July 26, 1976|pages=41–49|quote=|accessdateaccess-date= 2009-06-07 }}</ref>

On 22 May 1976 Bonavena was shot dead at the age of 33 by a security guard at the [[Mustang Ranch]] brothel near [[Reno, Nevada]], after having become involved in a conflict with its owner.<ref name="Farrell"/><ref name= "NYT">{{cite news

| accessdateaccess-date= 2009-06-11 }}</ref><ref name="LVR">[http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2000/Jun-29-Thu-2000/news/13874074.html Man who killed Oscar Bonavena dies], ''[[Las Vegas Review-Journal]]''</ref> His body was returned to Argentina to lie in state at the [[Luna Park, Buenos Aires|Luna Park]] sports arena in Buenos Aires, where 150,000 people filed by,<ref>[[Associated Press']] newsreel film of Bonavena's funeral, 1 June 1976, published on Youtube 24 July 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6MUdiQ1Q8Y</ref> afterwards being buried in the [[La Chacarita Cemetery]] in Buenos Aires.<ref>Entry in Findagrave for Bonavena's grave (2019). https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/22433/oscar-natalio-bonavena</ref>

|align=left|{{small|{{Flag icon|USA}} [[Capital Centre (Landover, Maryland)|Capital Centre]], [[Largo, Maryland]]}}

|{{small|[[Muhammad Ali vs. Oscar Bonavena|1970-12-07]]}}

|align=left|{{small|{{Flag icon|ARG}} [[Rosario, Santa Fe|Rosario]], [[Santa Fe Province|Santa Fe]]}}

[[Category:SportspeopleBoxers from Buenos Aires]]

[[Category:Argentine peoplesportspeople of Italian descent]]