BoxRec

Sugar Ray Leaonard, Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns, Robert Duran, and Wilfred Benitez were all from the same era. All these fighters fought each other and showed that styles makes fights. But the one fight that never happened was Wilfred Benitez vs Marvin Hagler. Who would of won if these two would of ever faced each other in the ring?

Peak Hagler would have KOd Benitez, 6 or 7 rounds

dr_devious wrote:Peak Hagler would have KOd Benitez, 6 or 7 rounds

That easily?

Halfamill wrote:

dr_devious wrote:Peak Hagler would have KOd Benitez, 6 or 7 rounds

That easily?

Hmmm ...

I might go with a couple- few more rounds than that, but at the end of the day we'd have the same result, Hagler by KO or stoppage.

If it were say, the Benitez who damn near shut out Roberto Duran & extended Thomas Hearns the limit in dropping a very narrow decision, I could see him giving Hagler fits early on & being very close, if not up on the cards before getting caught by Hagler in rounds 11 or 12 of a 15 rounder.

Good fantasy fight.

Hagler was traditionally a slow starter, so Benitez may have built up a bit of lead.

Ultimately, I see the titanium chinned bald one wearing Benitez down & stopping him around about round 10.

Syntax Error wrote:Good fantasy fight.

Hagler was traditionally a slow starter, so Benitez may have built up a bit of lead.

Ultimately, I see the titanium chinned bald one wearing Benitez down & stopping him around about round 10.

Agreed, Hagler would have been too strong and persistant at 160 for Benitez.

Hagler wins by K.O within 10

Benitez would have made Hagler look silly in the boxing skills department. Marvin would have won the fight due to his aggression, but I don't believe he would have KO'd Wilfredo. Benitez was just too slick for the plodding foot in the bucket Hagler to catch. Benitez would not be right in front of Hagler for him to hit. Hagler via boring decision.

Decagon wrote:Benitez was never stopped in his prime, and he had all the tools to keep Hagler off of him, except size. I don't see Hagler landing solidly that often aginst the uber-slick Benitez.

He was only 29 when he fought and was stopped by Leonard, I'd call that his prime.

Hagler was definately good enough to cut off the ring and wear down Benitez for a late stoppage. Hagler, being a slow starter, would lose the first few rounds, but by the sixth he'd start wearing Benitez down, and he'd probably stop him in the ninth.

I really don't see Benitiez going the distance. Yes, he was slick, but he was just too small to fight Hagler, which was most likely the reason they never fought.

Benitez was in his prime when he foguht Leonard (actually only 21) but he did last until the end of the 15th round.

It's hard to say how good of a middleweight Benitez could have been; and he would have had to have been great to beat Hagler.
Assuming that Benitez wouldn't lost much of his speed at middleweight and trained hard, he would have given Hagler a lot of trouble because he was a lot more elusive than the middleweights that Hagler beat. Still you would have to pick Hagler, but it would probably go the distance and be fairly competitive.

Decagon wrote:Benitez was never stopped in his prime, and he had all the tools to keep Hagler off of him, except size. I don't see Hagler landing solidly that often aginst the uber-slick Benitez.

Come on Zac, he was in his prime when he fought Leonard.

Don't know about Benitez, Clearly a great talent who didn't hone his skils to the best they could be sadely.

I rememeber he lost to Hamsho, though he was past his best at the time. based on what we know could he have beaten, Hagler, no.

Anyone here able to conform that Benitez was a sloppy trainer who usually did 2-3 weeks before a fight?

Halfamill wrote:

dr_devious wrote:Peak Hagler would have KOd Benitez, 6 or 7 rounds

That easily?

Easy but not that easy.

Ezzard wrote:Anyone here able to conform that Benitez was a sloppy trainer who usually did 2-3 weeks before a fight?

If that. Obviously he would do something, as he was usually in physical shape but he was notorious for not training or going AWOL. There's a longish article in SI from just after Duran/Benitez that goes into some detail about how bad the pair of them were, with Duran's training being done in either a former prison or penal colony and his trainer having to put his bed across the door to stop Duran going out at night and partying (failed, miserably).

edit - here's an SI article from roughly the timeframe but it's not the one I'm thinking of, with a cover with RD/WB on it (which doesn't appear to be in their archive):

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/ ... /index.htm

another on WB:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/ ... /index.htm

A lot of people are picking a peak Hagler to score a kayo within 7-8 rounds and are NOT considering a peak Wilfred....

Im gonna consider the 1982 Benitez who beat Duran and pushed Hearns very close....and in this fantasy matchup im gonna dream up it is a catchweight at 157lbs......I think Hagler wins a fairly close 15 round decision . Benitez would make Hagler look silly missing early on but Marvins power and strength would tell and Benitez would fade down the stretch 9 rounds to 6 with Hagler winning the last 3

Call me sentimental (massive Benitez fan here) but Ive always hated the, "Four Kings," concept.

El Radar deserved a crown as well...

Kikuchiyo wrote:

Decagon wrote:Benitez was never stopped in his prime, and he had all the tools to keep Hagler off of him, except size. I don't see Hagler landing solidly that often aginst the uber-slick Benitez.

He was only 29 when he fought and was stopped by Leonard, I'd call that his prime.

Hagler was definately good enough to cut off the ring and wear down Benitez for a late stoppage. Hagler, being a slow starter, would lose the first few rounds, but by the sixth he'd start wearing Benitez down, and he'd probably stop him in the ninth.

I really don't see Benitiez going the distance. Yes, he was slick, but he was just too small to fight Hagler, which was most likely the reason they never fought.

Benitez was 21 when he lost to SRL.

Hagler wins by SD

While I can't fault you for predicting a blind judge will be used, even the worst of judges can't score it for a fighter that is stopped. This is a mismatch, Hagler in 3 or 4 rounds.

Hagler by UD. The weight class was not a factor for Benitez, since he was also taller than Hagler, but he would not have that speed like he had in the other weight classes. I do not see Hagler stopping Benitez at his very best. And I do not see Wilfred outspeeding Marvelous Marvin either.

Benitez wont make the bell, he just cant keep Hagler off him forever.

Hagler in about 8, IMO.

A better question would be who was greater pound-for-pound?

elmersalsa wrote:Hagler by UD. The weight class was not a factor for Benitez, since he was also taller than Hagler, but he would not have that speed like he had in the other weight classes. I do not see Hagler stopping Benitez at his very best. And I do not see Wilfred outspeeding Marvelous Marvin either.

Aren't you the same guy who says Tommy Hearns was only great at 154? LOL, the weight class would be a massive factor, Benitez gets steamrolled.

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:

elmersalsa wrote:Hagler by UD. The weight class was not a factor for Benitez, since he was also taller than Hagler, but he would not have that speed like he had in the other weight classes. I do not see Hagler stopping Benitez at his very best. And I do not see Wilfred outspeeding Marvelous Marvin either.

Aren't you the same guy who says Tommy Hearns was only great at 154? LOL, the weight class would be a massive factor, Benitez gets steamrolled.

The weight class was not a factor for the great Thomas Hearns, either. But at 160lbs, he was not as good as when he was at 154lbs or at ww.

elmersalsa wrote:

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:

elmersalsa wrote:Hagler by UD. The weight class was not a factor for Benitez, since he was also taller than Hagler, but he would not have that speed like he had in the other weight classes. I do not see Hagler stopping Benitez at his very best. And I do not see Wilfred outspeeding Marvelous Marvin either.

Aren't you the same guy who says Tommy Hearns was only great at 154? LOL, the weight class would be a massive factor, Benitez gets steamrolled.

The weight class was not a factor for the great Thomas Hearns, either. But at 160lbs, he was not as good as when he was at 154lbs or at ww.

Wilfred wasn't good at all at 160, he was a punching bag. Sure he could have gained a few pounds and took on Marvin before he fell from grace, but the strength issue would be a massive factor. Saying otherwise is outlandish. Hamsho rolled him something fierce or you would have had your answer here. I was and am a huge Benitez fan. But this fight isn't remotely competitive.