# Willie Monroe (boxer, born 1946)

Willie "The Worm" Monroe (June 5, 1946 - June 22, 2019) was a middleweight boxer who competed from 1969 to 1981. He was most notable for defeating Marvelous Marvin Hagler in 1976 before Hagler went on an eleven year undefeated streak.
Monroe received his nickname "the Worm" for his slippery fighting style from Yank Durham. He died on Saturday, June 22, 2019, after complications with Alzheimers.
He was inducted into the Pennsylvania boxing hall of fame in 1990 and is the great uncle of American boxer Willie Monroe Jr.

## Early life and amateur career

Monroe was born in Alabama as the 13th of 17 children and spent his early years in Crestview, Florida. He started boxing in Rochester, New York where he claimed an undefeated 43-0 amateur record. He arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the autumn of 1969 to train for his pro-debut.

## Professional career

Monroe started his professional career with a perfect record of 20-0 before being stopped in a controversial split decision against Max Cohen.
A string of mixed results would follow with a notable win over Eugene Hart and losses to Alvin Philipps and Bobby Watts.
Monroe would go on to defeat Marvelous Marvin Hagler on March 9, 1976 in decisive fashion. Unfortunately no footage of the fight exists as a snowstorm in the area prevented filming. Two rematches would follow which were both won by technical knockout by Hagler

## Professional boxing record

| 51 fights | 40 wins | 10 losses |
| By knockout | 26 | 4 |
| By decision | 14 | 6 |
| Draws | 1 | 1 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 51 | Loss | 40–10–1 | Willie Edwards | KO | 4 (6) | Oct 24, 1981 | Cobo Hall, Detroit, Michigan, US | |
| 50 | Win | 40–9–1 | Jimmy McClain | UD | 10 | Jul 28, 1980 | Martin Luther King Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 49 | Loss | 39–9–1 | Dwight Davidson | UD | 10 | Nov 15, 1979 | Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan, US | |
| 48 | Loss | 39–8–1 | Curtis Parker | UD | 10 | Jul 16, 1979 | Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 47 | Win | 39–7–1 | Keith Broom | UD | 10 | May 31, 1979 | Convention Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 46 | Loss | 38–7–1 | Richard Ofosu | PTS | 10 | Mar 3, 1979 | Accra, Ghana | |
| 45 | Win | 38–6–1 | Frank Lucas | TKO | 8 (10) | Apr 22, 1978 | Teatro Ariston, San Remo, Italy | |
| 44 | Loss | 37–6–1 | Marvelous Marvin Hagler | TKO | 2 (12), 1:46 | Aug 23, 1977 | Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 43 | Win | 37–5–1 | Larry Davis | PTS | 10 | Jun 15, 1977 | Wagner Ballroom, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 42 | Loss | 36–5–1 | Marvelous Marvin Hagler | TKO | 12 (12), 1:20 | Feb 15, 1977 | Hynes Convention Center, Boston, Massachusetts, US | For vacant North American middleweight title |
| 41 | Win | 36–4–1 | Lenny Harden | TKO | 3 (10) | Jan 21, 1977 | War Memorial Auditorium, Rochester, New York, US | |
| 40 | Win | 35–4–1 | Angel Robinson Garcia | TKO | 7 (10), 3:00 | Dec 3, 1976 | War Memorial Auditorium, Rochester, New York, US | |
| 39 | Loss | 34–4–1 | David Love | TKO | 4 (10), 2:11 | Aug 16, 1976 | Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 38 | Win | 34–3–1 | Felton Marshall | TKO | 7 (10), 1:37 | May 19, 1976 | Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 37 | Win | 33–3–1 | Marvelous Marvin Hagler | UD | 10 | Mar 9, 1976 | Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 36 | Win | 32–3–1 | Carlos Marks | UD | 10 | Jan 28, 1976 | Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 35 | Win | 31–3–1 | Carlos Marks | MD | 10 | Jun 2, 1975 | Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 34 | Win | 30–3–1 | Rennie Pinder | KO | 4 (10) | Apr 28, 1975 | Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 33 | Loss | 29–3–1 | Bobby Watts | UD | 10 | Nov 12, 1974 | Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 32 | Win | 29–2–1 | Billy Douglas | UD | 10 | Aug 19, 1974 | Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 31 | Win | 28–2–1 | Stanley Hayward | TKO | 7 (10) | Apr 8, 1974 | Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 30 | Win | 27–2–1 | Eugene Hart | UD | 10 | Feb 18, 1974 | Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 29 | Draw | 26–2–1 | Fabio Bettini | PTS | 10 | Nov 5, 1973 | Palais des Sports, Paris, France | |
| 28 | Win | 26–2 | Jose Gonzalez | UD | 10 | Aug 14, 1973 | Convention Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 27 | Win | 25–2 | Roy McMillan | TKO | 3 (10), 0:36 | May 10, 1973 | Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 26 | Win | 24–2 | Don Cobbs | UD | 10 | Mar 5, 1973 | Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 25 | Win | 23–2 | Roy Lee | TKO | 1 (10), 2:40 | Jan 22, 1973 | National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica | |
| 24 | Win | 22–2 | George Davis | TKO | 6 (10), 0:08 | Dec 5, 1972 | Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 23 | Win | 21–2 | Leroy Roberts | KO | 1 (10) | Oct 24, 1972 | Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 22 | Loss | 20–2 | Alvin Phillips | SD | 10 | Sep 6, 1972 | Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans, Louisiana, US | |
| 21 | Loss | 20–1 | Nessim Max Cohen | SD | 10 | Mar 27, 1972 | Palais des Sports Porte de Versailles, Paris XV, France | |
| 20 | Win | 20–0 | Luis Miguel Galvan | UD | 10 | Mar 21, 1972 | Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas, US | |
| 19 | Win | 19–0 | Alvin Phillips | PTS | 10 | Jan 15, 1972 | Rivergate Auditorium, New Orleans, Louisiana, US | |
| 18 | Win | 18–0 | Willie Warren | UD | 10 | Oct 19, 1971 | Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas, US | |
| 17 | Win | 17–0 | Elgie Walters | TKO | 4 (10) | Jul 14, 1971 | Astro Hall, Houston, Texas, US | |
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Abraham Cabrera | KO | 3 (10), 1:41 | May 27, 1971 | Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | Adam Moore | KO | 2 (10) | Apr 12, 1971 | Fort Homer Hesterly Armory, Tampa, Florida, US | |
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Alvin Phillips | UD | 10 | Jan 18, 1971 | Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Luis Vinales | TKO | 6 (6), 1:25 | Nov 17, 1970 | Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Nojeen Adigun | KO | 4 (8) | Oct 6, 1970 | Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Adam Moore | TKO | 3 (6) | Sep 14, 1970 | Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans, Louisiana, US | |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Oscar Coor | TKO | 2 (6), 1:59 | Jul 20, 1970 | Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Santiago Rosa | TKO | 2 (10), 0:22 | Jul 13, 1970 | Fort Homer W. Hesterly Armory, Tampa, Florida, US | |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Harold Glaspy | TKO | 2 (6), 1:36 | Jul 6, 1970 | Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans, Louisiana, US | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Ruben Figueroa | KO | 2 (8) | Jun 15, 1970 | Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Alberto Millan | KO | 3 (8) | May 18, 1970 | Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Luis Ted Hamilton | KO | 1 (6) | Apr 22, 1970 | Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Luis Rivera | TKO | 1 (6) | Mar 25, 1970 | Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Fred Thomas | KO | 1 (6) | Feb 25, 1970 | Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Joe Williams | TKO | 4 (4) | Dec 9, 1969 | Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Vince Neratka | KO | 1 (4) | Nov 11, 1969 | Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |