Alan Minter vs Monty Betham in a non-title middleweight bout
Date: June 26, 1979
Venue: Wembley Arena, London
Minter stance: southpaw
Betham stance: orthodox
Alan Minter turned pro soon after winning a bronze medal as a light middleweight at the 1972 Olympics in Munich. Minter lost several early bouts due to severe cuts around the eyes - a problem he would have throughout his boxing career. In 1975, Minter won the vacant British middleweight title by outpointing Kevin Finnegan. Minter won the European title in 1977 when he knocked out Germano Valsecchi in the fifth round. Minter lost his next bout to Ronnie Harris by eighth round stoppage. In his next fight, Minter beat former welterweight and light middleweight world champion Emile Griffith on points. Minter then lost his European belt to Gratien Tonna, who stopped him in the eighth round. Minter then won a third British title fight against Kevin Finnegan on points. He regained his European title with a 12th round knockout of Angelo Jacopucci , who died of his injuries soon after. Next, Minter stopped Tonna in the sixth round of a rematch.
Monty Betham turned pro in 1973. He won his first 14 bouts, mainly in New Zealan. In 1974, Betham challenged Steve Aczel for the Australian light heavyweight belt and lost inside the distance. Betham won the Commonwealth middleweight title in 1975, beating Carlos Marks. His first defence was a stoppage win over Semi Bula He made four more successful defences of his title before losing a rematch inside the distance to Al Korovou in 1978.
For an in depth look at their respective records, visit:
Alan Minter - https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/11467
Monty Betham - https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/26777
