[3] Monroe received his nickname "the Worm" for his slippery fighting style from Yank Durham.
[3] He was inducted into the Pennsylvania boxing hall of fame in 1990 [5] and is the great uncle of American boxer Willie Monroe Jr.[4] Monroe was born in Alabama as the 13th of 17 children and spent his early years in Crestview, Florida.
[6] Monroe started his professional career with a perfect record of 20-0 before being stopped in a controversial split decision against Max Cohen.
[7] A string of mixed results would follow with a notable win over Eugene Hart and losses to Alvin Philipps and Bobby Watts.
[6] Monroe would go on to defeat Marvelous Marvin Hagler on March 9, 1976 in decisive fashion.