BY THE NUMBERS:
consecutive wins to start his career » Monroe was Alabama- born but grew up in Crestview, Florida, the 13th of 17 siblings. After a 43-0 amateur career, he arrived in Philadelphia in the fall of 1969, joining the stable of trainer/manager Yank Durham, whose main moneymaker was heavyweight champion Joe Frazier. Monroe started his pro career with a flourish, winning six straight at Philly’s vaunted fight club, The Blue Horizon. By March of 1972, he’d won 20 in a row with 16 knockouts.
bouts with Marvelous Marvin Hagler »
years on Earth » Monroe (1946-2019) was a family man, married to his wife, Barbara, for 51 years and working multiple jobs to put his daughter through college, including stints with Philadelphia Gas Works and driving a truck for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Monroe refereed some bouts, too, but seemed content to leave boxing in his past. Though he stood among the best, Monroe wasn’t without critics. At different times, he was accused of ducking opponents and being coddled by Durham. He eventually proved his critics wrong, taking on all comers and performing gallantly when he was up against a tough rival. Yet there was always a sense that Monroe could’ve achieved more. Peltz, who not only promoted Monroe’s bouts but was also a friend to the fighter, said at the time of Monroe’s death that The Worm was not entirely trusting of his immense talents. “At times, I believe he doubted his own skills,” Peltz wrote for BoxingScene.com. “It’s hard to tell how far he could have gone with just a little more self-confidence.” It is scary to imagine the man who whooped Hagler with a little more self-confidence. Then again, if the hallmarks of a Philly fighter are bravery, skill, toughness and grit, then Willie Monroe checked all the boxes. There wasn’t much more we could’ve expected from him, and it’s hard to envision a middleweight contender of his day being any better than The Worm.
fights at the Philadelphia Spectrum » Monroe was a reliable attraction at all the Philadelphia Philadelphia Arena, the Convention Hall and The Wagner Ballroom, but the Spectrum was where Philly legends were made, and Monroe’s name on the marquee usually meant something special was happening. Even at the end of his run, Monroe went out with a serious bang, his final Spectrum bout being a 10-round slugfest with a much younger Curtis Parker. fight venues, including the Monroe lost on the scorecards, but his effort was a spirited farewell to a building that must’ve felt like home. J Russell Peltz, promoter of the Spectrum bouts, rated Monroe’s loss to Parker as an “all- Philly classic” and one of Monroe’s two greatest nights in the ring, along with beating Hagler.
It was occasionally heard among Hagler’s inner circle that Willie Monroe was the only opponent to legitimately beat the Marvelous One. Hagler’s other losses were hotly disputed, but not the loss to Monroe. Granted, the admission of defeat was usually said in a whisper, and usually with a qualifier – something about Hagler having a head cold – but there was no debating that The Worm got the best of Hagler that first time they met at the Philadelphia Spectrum. Even Hagler, who despised losing the way Hannibal despised Rome, was agreeable to the scorecards going Willie’s way. The fight, Hagler said, “was tough but honest.” Monroe put on a clinic that blustery March night in 1976, using a strong jab to burst a vessel in Hagler’s nose, causing a steady stream of crimson to pour from Hagler’s snout throughout the fight, and rocking him several times with short, sneaky rights. “I like to think I took him back to school,” Monroe said years later. Under the guidance of trainer George Benton, Monroe made Hagler back up and often outpunched him three and four blows to one. When they stood toe-to-toe, as the Philadelphia Inquirer reported, Monroe’s punches seemed as if they “were fired out of a howitzer, while Hagler’s were the popgun variety.” The official scores, to the delight of the Spectrum crowd, were 47-44, 49-41 and 48-42, all for Monroe, who had trained for another opponent and only realized he was fighting Hagler on five days’ notice. The fight, however, was a financial flop. A good Spectrum boxing show could draw between 6,000 and 11,000 customers, but only 3,459 turned out to see Monroe’s finest moment thanks to a major snowstorm. The weather, which resulted in five inches of snow on city streets and one fatality, even prevented the film crew from showing up, meaning that Monroe’s dominating performance against the soon to be mythical Hagler was not recorded for posterity. Hagler and Monroe met again in February 1977. This time before a Boston crowd, Hagler earned revenge by scoring a TKO at 1:20 of Round 12. Then, when the pair returned to the Spectrum for the rubber match later that year, Hagler put a dramatic end to their series by scoring a second- round knockout. Yet it was that first fight, won by Monroe, that seemed to change the course of middleweight history, for Hagler came out of it admitting, “I have a lot to learn.” And so he did, which led to some hard times for the middleweight class over the next decade.
controversial loss to a Frenchman » Monroe’s winning streak ended with a trip to Paris, where he lost a disputed split decision to popular French contender Nessim Max Cohen. Though he tired a bit at the end, Monroe managed to put Cohen on the canvas in Round 3 and seemed to win most of the other rounds. For two of the judges, this wasn’t enough to send Monroe home with the win. Even Cohen’s French fans jeered the verdict, feeling the American had won.
WILLIE “THE WORM” MONROE by Don Stradley • Illustration by KronkAAArt He was one of the key figures of the 1970s Philadelphia boxing scene, fighting gamely alongside such stars as Bennie Briscoe, Bobby “Boogaloo” Watts and Eugene “Cyclone” Hart. Nicknamed “The Worm” because of his silky-smooth style, Willie Monroe was a top middleweight contender at a time when the division was, to borrow lyrics from an old bubblegum hit, jammed up and jelly-tight with talent. Now, if you’ll pardon the reference to Tommy Roe, let’s get on with Willie the Worm. Here’s his story by the numbers.
title shots » Though Durham hoped to see Monroe fight for the middleweight title held by Carlos Monzon, it
wasn’t to be. According to Monroe, Durham’s death in 1973 effectively curtailed his progress. Trainer Eddie Futch, who took over the Durham stable, put his focus on Frazier. Talking to the Philadelphia Daily News in 1987, Monroe said he’d had the talent to be a champion, but when Durham died, “My chances went up in smoke.” It is also possible that the golden age of Philadelphia middleweights was simply too packed with talent. Briscoe, the most popular of the bunch, would fight for the title three times, while the rest were seemingly stranded in Philadelphia, fighting each other in what appeared to be an endless round-robin tournament with no clear winner and no discernable prize. Though he dropped a decision to Philly’s Bobby Watts, Monroe notched wins over such local favorites as Cyclone Hart and Stanley “Kitten” Hayward, plus a 10-round decision over Philly regular by way of Ohio, Billy “Dynamite” Douglas. But after his three bouts with Hagler, Monroe seemed on a bumpy downhill skid, going 3-4 before retiring in 1981. His final pro record was 40-10-1 with 26 KOs.
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