page_title: Professional boxing
section_title: 1960 to 1980
hierarchical_section_title: Professional boxing / Modern history / 1960 to 1980
caption_attribution_description: Nino Benvenuti vs Carlos Monzón at Palazzo dello Sport, Rome
context_page_description: Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory authority to guarantee the fighters' safety. Most high-profile bouts obtain the endorsement of a sanctioning body, which awards championship belts, establishes rules, and assigns its own judges and referee.
  In contrast with amateur boxing, professional bouts are typically much longer and can last up to twelve rounds, though less significant fights can be as short as four rounds. Protective headgear is not permitted, and boxers are generally allowed to take substantial punishment before a fight is halted. Professional boxing has enjoyed a much higher profile than amateur boxing throughout the 20th century and beyond.
  In Cuba professional boxing is banned. So was also the case in Sweden between 1970 and 2007, and Norway between 1981 and 2014.
context_section_description: In the early 1960s, the seemingly invincible Sonny Liston captured the public imagination with his one-sided destruction of two-time heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson. One of the last mob-connected fighters, Liston had his mystique shattered in two controversial losses to the brash upstart Cassius Clay, who changed his name to Muhammad Ali after becoming champion. Ali would become the most iconic figure in boxing history, transcending the sport and achieving global recognition. His refusal to serve in the Vietnam War resulted in the stripping of his title, and tore down the barrier between sport and culture.
  After three years of inactivity, Ali returned to the sport, leading to his first epic clash with Joe Frazier in 1971, ushering in a "golden age" of heavyweight boxing. Ali, Frazier, and the heavy-hitting George Foreman were the top fighters in a division overloaded with talent. Among the middleweights, Argentine Carlos Monzón emerged as a dominant champion, reigning from 1970 to his retirement in 1977, after an unprecedented 14 title defenses. Roberto Durán dismantled opponents for 6½ years as lightweight champion, Defending the title 12 times, 11 by knockout.
  The late 1970s witnessed the end of universally recognised champions, as the WBC and WBA began to recognise different champions and top contenders, ushering in the era of multiple champions, unworthy mandatory challengers, and general corruption that came to be associated with sanctioning bodies in later decades.
  The end of this decade also saw the sport begin to become more oriented toward the casino industry. The Caesars Palace hotel in Las Vegas began to host major bouts featuring George Foreman, Ron Lyle, Muhammad Ali, Roberto Durán, Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns. Also, public broadcasts would be replaced by closed-circuit, and ultimately pay-per-view, broadcasts, as the boxing audience shrank in numbers.
caption: Carlos Monzón (right) fighting Nino Benvenuti in 1970
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