He did not fight Pozniakas in 1968 though, as he had a broken nose from his previous bout and withdrew from the Olympic final. Monea was trained by Constantin Nour, whom he called the "most competent and gifted trainer". After retiring from competitions he also worked as a boxing coach.
He competed as a middleweight in 1960-1964 and won a bronze medal at the 1960 Olympics and a silver medal at the 1963 European Championships, placing fifth at the 1964 Olympics. He then moved up to the light-heavyweight division and won three more medals, at the 1967 and 1969 European championships and 1968 Olympics, losing on all three occasions to Danas Pozniakas.
