BoxRec

silkov wrote:From what I've heard Benitez's father would take him around the streets and get him to fight grown men when he was just a child... if Wilfredo didn't do well or refused to fight then his father would beat him.
Benitez was an amazing talent... but I think having so many tough fights in the ring at such and early age and who knows how many 'street fights' all contributed to him 'burning out'... and when his speed and reflexes went he started to take more and more punches and suffered some bad beatings in the last part of his career, which is why he is in a bad way today. Wilfredo only trained for 10 days for the Leonard fight. I think the most he ever trained was 3 weeks for the Duran fight... which was probably his greatest performance.

It probably would have been better for both his career and his life had he been put into boxing more gently and been allowed an education as well.
I think much of Wilfredos earnings were squandered by his father.

bollox wrote:

silkov wrote:From what I've heard Benitez's father would take him around the streets and get him to fight grown men when he was just a child... if Wilfredo didn't do well or refused to fight then his father would beat him.
Benitez was an amazing talent... but I think having so many tough fights in the ring at such and early age and who knows how many 'street fights' all contributed to him 'burning out'... and when his speed and reflexes went he started to take more and more punches and suffered some bad beatings in the last part of his career, which is why he is in a bad way today. Wilfredo only trained for 10 days for the Leonard fight. I think the most he ever trained was 3 weeks for the Duran fight... which was probably his greatest performance.

It probably would have been better for both his career and his life had he been put into boxing more gently and been allowed an education as well.
I think much of Wilfredos earnings were squandered by his father.

I've read these things many times. Utterly disgraceful behaviour by any father towards their child :x It seems to go hand in hand in these cases that the kid is expected to have the balls that the father obviously didn't

Gerry Cooney and Bobby Czyz come to mind although not to the extent of Benitez. Not so much the physical beatings but the draining mental torture. From what I've read Czyz had an argument one night. Bobby tried to make up with him but the old man refused . So he went to bed and the old man shot himself

silkov wrote:From what I've heard Benitez's father would take him around the streets and get him to fight grown men when he was just a child... if Wilfredo didn't do well or refused to fight then his father would beat him.
Benitez was an amazing talent... but I think having so many tough fights in the ring at such and early age and who knows how many 'street fights' all contributed to him 'burning out'... and when his speed and reflexes went he started to take more and more punches and suffered some bad beatings in the last part of his career, which is why he is in a bad way today. Wilfredo only trained for 10 days for the Leonard fight. I think the most he ever trained was 3 weeks for the Duran fight... which was probably his greatest performance.

It probably would have been better for both his career and his life had he been put into boxing more gently and been allowed an education as well.
I think much of Wilfredos earnings were squandered by his father.

BrocktonBlockbuster49 wrote:what was the hype like after benitez beat a HOF to win the title at 17! were people making him out to be the next great. did u guys think he was gonna be the next great? cause he was so young and had so many years left?



i heard the hardest fight he ever trained for was against cervantes.

- benitez trained only 5 days against bruce curry and still was able to eak out a split decision. amazin talent.

Scorecard de Oro wrote:1- Benitez wins circling match with a couple right hands

2 - Duran gets stuck into Benitez and wins clearly

3 - Benitez too quick, too classy at times, shows punching skill here

4 - Benitez shows dodging ability, making Duran miss a lot while still being sharp with his own punches. Duran lands big right hand but Benitez takes it = and the round.

5 - Benitez still making him miss, lands a couple nice right hands that unsettle Duran, who goes a bit flat during the last quarter of the round.

6 - Hard to score - Benitez makes him miss a lot by standing in range and fake-duking, but doesn't land much while doing so - only a left hand to the ribs that was partially blocked. Duran lands two hard right hands that look to quickly stun Benitez, closing the round strong. Even.

7 - Benitez lands a left jab and Duran then matches it before forcing the action all through this round - backing up Benitez to the ropes and actually landing on him. A big uppercut appears to buzz Duran just before the rounds close, causing a cut, but it's not enough.

8 - Pretty even, both fighters keep the action up but there's not a lot in the punches. Benitez lands a few sharp, really sharp, shots, which edge the round to him.

9 - Benitez too sharp, lands quite a few classy shots but does take a big right hand while laying on the ropes. Overall he was more active than Duran and had more authority in there.

10 - Benitez comes out showing his strength - going for bombs in good executioner style. Duran looks slightly rocked when taking one, but comes back to stink out the rest of the round by lots of spoiling; very intelligent fight this. Benitez still showing extraordinary sharpness at most points.

11 - Pretty much an even round - another 'action breather' as both refuse to clinch, but equally can't put enough strength into their punches. Both land flush apiece in the first three quarters but Benitez finishes stronger and may nick the round.

12 - Another even round with Benitez's sharper jabbing maybe nicking it, then a big right hand wobbles Duran a little near the end, before Duran clocks Benitez right before the bell. Close round to Benitez.

13 - Even round. Duran fights without a mouthpiece and forces the action well - particularly with the (double) jab, however neither lands anything significant.

14 - Even round. Duran tries to flurry the last 30 seconds but it's not enough. Benitez doesn't do enough to win it either.

15 - Even round till about 2:30, when Benitez backs into a corner and motions Duran in. Duran, fighting again without a mouthpiece, lands about as much as Benitez dodges. I'd say the landed punches were of more variety and quality than the dodging (which lacked the nuance of Benitez's earlier lateral movement - I think he did this because he was tired). Duran's round.


Duran - Benitez

1: 9 - 10

2: 10 - 9

3: 9 - 10

4: 9 - 10

5: 9 - 10

6: 10 - 10

7: 10 - 9

8: 9 - 10

9: 9 - 10

10: 9 - 10

11: 9 - 10 (close)

12: 9 - 10 (close)

13: 10 - 10

14: 10 - 10

15: 10 - 9

Duran 141 - 147 Benitez

-KOKid- wrote:Certainly Benitez was something else in terms of talent. A real shame he ended up the way he did. He belongs in that "come up fast, burn out quick" category.
Davey Moore was another one of that kind, as was Lionel Rose. No one ever believed that these guys would be shot by the time they reached their mid twenties when they first were coming up.

-KOKid-

silkov wrote:Davey Moore was a tragic case... nothing seemed to go right for him after the Duran fight and his early death was very sad.

bollox wrote:A bit more on the father/son business - the Ayala brothers were forced to eat raw jalapeno beans as youngsters (hot as all hell) so the old man could see who could last the longest and which was therefore the 'toughest'. What a guy huh?