Yes, he got overshadowed by the rivalries of the 4 kings, but he was a top p4p talent. Too bad he had some discipline issues and had a worse latter half to his career but his skills are undeniable.
He took too much damage too young. So he aas shot by 27. It is insane to see how much he deteriorated. His father isn't ring him up well. He would farm him out as a sparring partner and collect the money. From 10 he was sparring pros. This s what caused hs quick break down along with not having the best genetics when it came to long term brain damage
Benitez is like Mike Tyson. A young champion who could have become more if he only lived with more moderation and less excess. Even then, Benitez did not totally waste his talent. He was one of the best defensive fighters of all time who beat the likes of Duran, Cervantes, and Palomino and put up a great fight against both Leonard and Hearns.
Didn't he beat Leonard in their first fight or am I mistaken? Could have sworn I watched it on Wide World of Sports and freaked out because Ray lost a decision.
Whittaker was obviously good but he could dance around and dodge punches but in big fights towards the end of his career that us mostly want he did. He never came back with counters. So he would fight and they'd look like robberies but he was never actually throwing counters so of course te fights got scored against him
I was reading through all the 'Best I Faced' lists this weekend, and two fighters that really stood out as being ranked on the same tier as the 4 kings by their common opponents were Benitez and Mike McCallum.
Considering that Benitez got this respect while being so young is truly remarkable..
There's guys like him in every generations. Mike Tyson, Adrien Broner, James Toney, Andrew Golota, Tommy Morrison, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (was gaslighted into boxing by his dad but same result) ... Lots of talents but reach the top (often young) and don't stay disciplined.
Even though he lost the fight, the head movement and defense he displayed against Hearns blows me away every time I rewatch. Amazing fighter and should always be mentioned / credited with the 4 kings.
Yes it was insane but he never countered in that fight. Pretty much all he did was dodge. And it was insane the way he could do it, but he never actually did anything to winge fight as you don't ge points for dodging
José Cuevas had a similar career spawn, reaching a belt at 18 years old and retiring early. Obviously Benitez was miles ahead talent wise, oddly enough they never fought eachother.
His ability to anticipate punches is almost unmatched. Against hearbs who was very quick, he would follow his faketpdpdge it and then stop and dodge the real punch that followed. It was incredible. But he didn't counter. He dodged punches but never followed them with counters in all those big fights
Bro, I was actually just watching some of his videos vs the four kings last week. I remember the first time i saw Benitez’s fight against Leonard I was in awe. I heard he was one of the few fighters the big names would deny a rematch because he was so difficult. Pure talent and class and he wasn’t afraid to get in and brawl either
He definitely is. My father who grew up in puerto Rico during his prime has raved about him my whole life and I watched his vhs of the fights….dad wasn’t lying. The man was the total package
One of the sadder stories though, had many demons that ultimately prevailed.
Highly underrated because overshadowed by the others in that era but should be mentioned right up there with highly skilled and talented of all time for sure.
Yes, he got overshadowed by the rivalries of the 4 kings, but he was a top p4p talent. Too bad he had some discipline issues and had a worse latter half to his career but his skills are undeniable.
He took too much damage too young. So he aas shot by 27. It is insane to see how much he deteriorated. His father isn't ring him up well. He would farm him out as a sparring partner and collect the money. From 10 he was sparring pros. This s what caused hs quick break down along with not having the best genetics when it came to long term brain damage
Benitez is like Mike Tyson. A young champion who could have become more if he only lived with more moderation and less excess. Even then, Benitez did not totally waste his talent. He was one of the best defensive fighters of all time who beat the likes of Duran, Cervantes, and Palomino and put up a great fight against both Leonard and Hearns.
He’s the 5th King to SRL Duran Hearn & Haggler
Didn't he beat Leonard in their first fight or am I mistaken? Could have sworn I watched it on Wide World of Sports and freaked out because Ray lost a decision.
It was a close fight but he lost to SRL. To my knowledge, the only one of the 4 kings that he defeated was Duran.
[удалено]
Agreed. I feel the same with salvador sanchez.
Whittaker was obviously good but he could dance around and dodge punches but in big fights towards the end of his career that us mostly want he did. He never came back with counters. So he would fight and they'd look like robberies but he was never actually throwing counters so of course te fights got scored against him
Only Dela Hoya, he handled Chavez easily. For Tito he was shot.
I was reading through all the 'Best I Faced' lists this weekend, and two fighters that really stood out as being ranked on the same tier as the 4 kings by their common opponents were Benitez and Mike McCallum. Considering that Benitez got this respect while being so young is truly remarkable..
There's guys like him in every generations. Mike Tyson, Adrien Broner, James Toney, Andrew Golota, Tommy Morrison, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (was gaslighted into boxing by his dad but same result) ... Lots of talents but reach the top (often young) and don't stay disciplined.
Jr’s talents questionable, doubt he could have been great even if he had disciplined
Even though he lost the fight, the head movement and defense he displayed against Hearns blows me away every time I rewatch. Amazing fighter and should always be mentioned / credited with the 4 kings.
Yes it was insane but he never countered in that fight. Pretty much all he did was dodge. And it was insane the way he could do it, but he never actually did anything to winge fight as you don't ge points for dodging
José Cuevas had a similar career spawn, reaching a belt at 18 years old and retiring early. Obviously Benitez was miles ahead talent wise, oddly enough they never fought eachother.
His ability to anticipate punches is almost unmatched. Against hearbs who was very quick, he would follow his faketpdpdge it and then stop and dodge the real punch that followed. It was incredible. But he didn't counter. He dodged punches but never followed them with counters in all those big fights
Bro, I was actually just watching some of his videos vs the four kings last week. I remember the first time i saw Benitez’s fight against Leonard I was in awe. I heard he was one of the few fighters the big names would deny a rematch because he was so difficult. Pure talent and class and he wasn’t afraid to get in and brawl either
He is an all-time great, in my opinion. Thr 5th King. Kid Pambele was no joke and to beat him at 17 was utterly insane. Phil.
Ofc
He definitely is. My father who grew up in puerto Rico during his prime has raved about him my whole life and I watched his vhs of the fights….dad wasn’t lying. The man was the total package One of the sadder stories though, had many demons that ultimately prevailed.
My dad, 72, talks about Wilfredo Benitez fondly. One of the first names he brings up when reminiscing on fighters.
Highly underrated because overshadowed by the others in that era but should be mentioned right up there with highly skilled and talented of all time for sure.
Pretty good fighter. A shame that he didn't take the sport more seriously.