I can't reasonably see any outcome other than Benitez by decision if Wilfred is in shape. (I'm tired of having this caveat with every Benitez MM btw) Style wise he shouldn't have to be 100% to win this but I still think Quartey gives him a good go of it. While Ike was pretty basic, he was excellent at doing what he did. To me it's more competitive than it appears on the surface even if we go with the mythical "focused" Benitez. If De La Hoya and Vernon Forrest couldn't combat Quartey's jab, Benitez isn't going to do it with anything resembling "ease" as I'm sure some people will think.
As a fellow Puerto Rican, I admit that it is tiring as far as a "focused" Wilfred but unfortunately, that was the reality with him. He could be a lazy fuck at times and he was definitely IMO the most talented Puerto Rican boxer I've ever seen. I do think "El Radar" is the favorite, but I think Quartey gives him some difficulty with his jab and strength.
Like whiskey said, you have to throw in the "Benitez trains instead of snorting coke off of the ass of a stripper while drunk and receiving head from another stripper" caveat per usual... Benitez simply too defensively skilled and his sharp counters would force Ike to think twice
Benitez pretty easily. Ike was too robotic for Will. Quartey would have success here and there, but Benitez would be in control throughout and would dominate the late rounds as Ike fades (as per usual).
Benitez was trained when he fought Leonard, I don't give a shit what the rumors say. He simply couldn't deal with Leonard's handspeed. Quartey, obviously, was nowhere near as fast or as good as Leonard.
I loved watching Ike fight.. He was one of these guys who looked SPECTACULAR vs lower tier guys but come on now.. You have to favor Benitez here heavy
It's pretty well accepted that Benitez trained about a week for the Leonard fight ... It was known at the time before the fight itself
Agreed. As I said in another thread, Ike has become very, very overrated. Like LOK said, he's the kind of guy who looked awesome thumping decent guys, but he didn't look good against the elite fighters he faced, including getting soundly outboxed by Vargas. Who did he even beat, Cool Vince and Oba Carr? :: Benitez would school the shit out of him, so would Floyd and Pacquiao.
Let's not forget that Benitez needed really friendly judging just to escape BRUCE Curry... He was a much different fighter when he didn't look after himself... Bruce Curry was a decent enough fighter but I have no doubts Ike would have hammered him
He looked OK, but I think Oscar edged that fight. I thought he looked too basic against both Oscar and Vargas. Vargas boxed the shit out of him, and he didn't overwhelm him with size/strength either, it was the most mobile Vargas has looked.
If that's true, it's BAFFLING to me because.... It's LEONARD! I myself have doubts about those rumors. But we'll never know.
I thought both him and Oscar looked good if not great. I agree that he didn't look good against Vargas but he had never boxed at 154 before and was coming off a 15 month layoff. Not exactly great preparation, while Vargas at the time was young and in his prime, and many were calling him the best at 154 pounds.
So what? :: The Vargas fight was only 14 months after the Oscar fight. A year or so is nothing, it can be a good thing, for rest and rejuvenation. Floyd was off for 2 years before fighting Marquez, and looked ultra sharp. Oscar himself was off for about 15 months or so before the Vargas fight, and he beat him up and stopped him. Leonard was off for 3 years before beating Hagler, one of the best middleweights ever. So yeah, it's a bullshit excuse, he was off for a year ::
I don't buy it. A year or so is not that long, there are plenty of fighters off for a year or more, who look as good as ever. It's a bullshit excuse. Quartey was a good fighter, just nowhere near as good as people make out in retrospect. He was a tad too basic and unimaginative to be a true elite fighter.
But I think a lot of that depends on the fighter and circumstances. Quartey had been off for a year prior to Oscar and then immediately another year before Vargas. So if you think about it, it's really a 2 year layoff. Now some fighters can do it and still be at their best. But again, circumstances depend. Like when Floyd fought Marquez, he had a ridiculous size advantage and Floyd never leaves the gym. A guy like Quartey?? Who knows why he does in between fights. But I feel that Ike might have been one of those guys who needed some activity and by taking no tune up for his first fight at 154 against a strong young fighter like Vargas, he set himself up for failure. I do agree that he wasn't an ATG. But I think he'd give a decent account of himself against the likes of Leonard, Hearns, Benitez etc.
Quartey Vargas was a close fight. And quartey would've bashed Vargas who fought delahoya. Layoffs matter especially Back to back like that. 2 fights in 3 years
Neil, cmoonnnnnn. There was not a DAMN thing close about Vargas-Quartey. Not AT ALL. Vargas won CLEAR AS DAY!
A close fight to me means a fight that coulda gone either way. If Ike had gotten the decision over Vargas, it woulda been one of the biggest big fight robberies in history. Vargas was the CLEAR winner. 8-4, or arguably even 9-3. You have to REALLY stretch to give Ike 5 rounds. Really stretch!
For what's it worth, I could see the Ike of the mid 90s beating Vargas. But he would NEVER "bash" Vargas. Ike NEVER EVER had the firepower, handspeed, and stamina that Tito had. Vargas would be a tough fight for ANY version of Ike. Reason for that being Ike was a guy who depended on his physical strength, and Vargas was bigger and stronger than Ike ever was.
I don't think much of Ike Quartey in a historical sense. There's MANY welterweights in history who would've beaten him. He would clean house against today's young guys though. He'd batter Thurman, Brook, Porter, Maidana, Con, Bradley, ect. He'd kick Crapnelo's ass too.
quartey winning only 3 rounds vs vargas is a joke. you sound like larry merchant. he nearly KOd the guy in the 9th. vargas all busted up after the fight for a guy who won 75% of the rounds
