It is basically a pick em if both are at their bests. Gun to my head, I'd pick Curry in a close one. Benitez definitely wins at 154 though.
It's hard to say with benitez because you never know how's he going to show up. He was a special fighter at his best, he might well beat Curry If he's not at his best, he probably has moments of brilliance while clearly losing (a la Leonard)
Actually, I take it back. If Will is at his best, he beats Curry at 147. Curry simply didn't have the handspeed that Leonard had, nor the height and range of Hearns. Will had no answer for Ray's speed, nor Hearns' length. Against Curry, he doesn't have the worry about an insane height difference, and although Curry had quick hands, they were more comparable to Will's own handspeed than Leonard's.
that was Don's brother Bruce at 140 Two perfect examples of Benitez in poor form... Bruce gave him hell Benitez shows up like that against Donald, he's losing big while doing some cute, impressive shit here and there along the way... Benitez of the Palomino fight, fully trained, focused, serious gives Leonard a real tough time (much tougher than he did when they fought and he trained for like a week or some ridiculous shit like that... even then, it was by no means "easy" for Ray Leonard) and I think he probably beats Donald Curry (not easily, but he wins)
The Curry that was comfortable making 147 pounds was a very good fighter. He found Starling with his jab and straight right consistently in both their bouts. While Curry didn't have the hand speed of Leonard, his straight, accurate punching and able to shuffle forward behind the jab would have been difficult for Benitez. For me the bottom line is that Will's pace and propensity to let his opponent lead would have made it relatively easy for Curry. Curry 145-140 UD over 15.
Not many welterweights in history could have taken Benitez. A trained Wilfred would outbox Curry, and Benitez would have been too good and strong for him on the inside as well. Benitez W 15.
