Benitez-Palomino

I hadn't watched this fight in about a good 7-8 years, maybe longer. Just re-watched it. Easily one of the finest boxing exhibitions in the sport's history. I used to say the Duran fight was Benitez's best performance, but I'm almost rethinking that now. I had fogotten how BRILLIANT Benitez was in this fight.

Watching Benitez it's almost ABSURD how huge the gap in talent and skill is between him and current welters like Garcia, Thurman, Brook, ect. Just an astronomical gap in ability.

The Benitez of the Palomino fight was a better fighter than Floyd ever was. Shame he didn't have a fraction of Floyd's dedication.

 

I thought Benitez's win over Cervantes was even more impressive. But haven't watched either in a while.

 

In reality, you can make a legit argument for Cervantes, Palomino, or Duran as being Benitez's best performance. He was brilliant in all three. The main argument for the Cervantes fight was that he was so brilliant at sooooooo young. But from what I remember, he was more polished against Palomino and Duran, which is understandable.

But fuck it, that 17-year-old Benitez still easily beats any current junior welter.

 

Word. Wilfred was incredibly gifted. My favorite fight was his KO win over Maurice Hope. Not only that was a beautiful KO, but also he made history as the first Latino to win a third division title and he was the first boxer since Henry Armstrong in 1938 to accomplish that feat. Benitez was the fifth boxer in history to win three belts in three different divisions. A month later Alexis Arguello won a third belt and the USA media celebrated more Arguello than Benitez.

 

Xplosive you are the king of exaggeration!

Floyd has had his share of virtuoso performances as well over the years. Mayweather of the Corrales, Hatton, Ndou and Gatti fights was as good as any fighter in history.

 

That's worse hyperbole than you being 5'10"

 

You seem angry all the time. What's the matter?

 

Palomino was competitive the first half of the fight but once Benitez started countering off the ropes, Palomino was left gamely swinging at air ... Only wish the fight hadn't been fought under harsh sunlight... Even the best video of the bout still looks shitty because of overexposure

 

Sly, tell the truth - would you have ANY interest in this thread had Floyd's name not been mentioned?

Some boxing fan you are...

 

Well Floyd's name wasn't mentioned in the thread title and I still clicked in and checked it out. So yes.

I think you're the one that's obsessed with Floyd, not me. I mean...what does Mayweather have to do with Benitez-Palomino? Yet you brought him up out of the blue.

Explain yourself.

 

I was comparing Benitez to current welters, and with Floyd being the best current welter, I was comparing the two. Benitez, in my opinion, had more natural ability than Floyd. The difference between them is Floyd is a gym rat, and Benitez was a nightclub rat.

 

Bullshit

 

I am not sure if it was just a case of Benitez not training. To me he seems like one of those guys who could look brilliant in some fights against certain opposition but could not keep the level every time out. Michael Nunn was another such example, as was Donald Curry

 

Benitez "got up" for his biggest opponents. Which is why his three best performances came against three hofmers.

He was also at his best for Leonard and Hearns - no excuses there. Leonard and Hearns were simply too good for him.

 

Curry's different from Benitez, because Curry was consistently brilliant in his short-prime. Just was never the same after Honeyghan.

Both at their VERY BESTS, Curry vs Benitez would be a dream matchup.

 

Dude, Benitez trained only 9 days for the Leonard fight. His trainer dad, Goyo Benitez, was very pissed before the fight and told El Nuevo Dia reporters that and that he probably he would lose against Leonard. El Nuevo Dia sports reporter Chu Garcia wrote an editorial on Benitez lack of training the day before the fight saying something along these lines, "If Benitez doesn't care about his boxing career then he should quit now and enjoy his money, but dancing all night at Isadora's (a then popular San Juan nightclub) will benefit only one man: Ray Leonard." Before the Hearns fight The Ring Magazine interviewed his team and while they stated this was the most committed Wilfred was ever for a training camp, he wasn't always that committed. When asked how much he trained for Leonard, they admitted 'Nine days".

 

I love Benitez, but I think the Leonard rumors are one of the biggest crocks of shit in boxing history.

Did he train his hardest for Leonard? Probably not.

Do I believe he trained for a week? No. Just fucking no. I think it's bullshit.

Leonard's handspeed was the biggest problem for Benitez. A lot of what Will did well he did well because he had a quickness advantage. Against Leonard, his quickness went out the window, and Ray simply beat him to the punch all night.

Benitez looked very sharp against Leonard, but he looked like he was a step behind against a better fighter.

 

I think these guys were also stylistically more suitable for Benitez. And before someone accuses me of anything, of course outclassing a HOFer is a mark of a legend, despite their style.

 

Benitez is one of my favorite fighters out of Puerto Rico. Great talent for sure. Like you mentioned he lacked dedication. I heard stories that he only trained 1-2 weeks for fights. One can only imagine how good he could have been if he were dedicated.

 

I also heard them stories as well. My dad who lives in Puerto Rico told me this.

 

It obviously would have helped his career and longevity but i'm not sure more dedication would have made him a superior in the ring product on fight night. In other words i think we already saw him at his very best, and additional training wasn't going to produce any major improvements.

 

If none of it was documented, I could see it... But Benitez's flakiness was legendary

 

I don't see how they are a crock of shit when they were discussed at the time... It's not like somebody just threw it out there 10 years later

 

i heard benitez didnt start training for the leonard fight until the day before...

 

Dude, the story I mentioned before was not made up after the fight as an excuse. It was all over the news in Puerto Rico before the fight. I not only remembered that, but read those reports in El Nuevo Dia, Puerto Rico's number one newspaper. WAPA TV news even interviewed staff from Isadora's nightclub and they confirmed that indeed Wilfred was there every night just two weeks before the fight. One of them said he even asked him, 'Hey champ: aren't you supposed to be training in the morning?' to which allegedly Wilfred responded, 'No te preocupes, ese tipo es un muerto' ('Don't worry, that guy (Leonard) is a corpse' meaning 'bum').

 

I don't think anybody is disputing Wilfredo's dedication. (or more so lack thereof)

Two months training? One Month? Nine days or none at all? What would be the optimum amount for Benitez to be considered at his best? He was a wonderful talent but all his losses are written off as lack of focus/training and his wins hailed as brilliant. It's another example of wanting it both ways.

Maybe just maybe he couldn't have beat Leonard or Hearns on his best day even if he put a few more days in the gym?

 

He lost to both of them and that is what counts. He was talented for sure, but he was also an arrogant son of a bitch that was disliked by many. Some friends of mine were even betting against him and were having a blast every time he lost.

 

Let's be real, the only reason Benitez even saw the final bell against Hearns is because Tommy broke his right hand early on in the bout...

 

Fair enough. I guess we will never really know. :up:

 

I heard the morning of the fight.