Wilfred Benitez v(circa 1978?)v Floyd Matweather,presemt.who wins?

Question

Another boyhood hero of mine wilfred,outstandig talent and I remember himbeing world champ at 17,a little older than me,what a fighter he was as good a defensive fighter as Mayweather and much mo exiteing to watch,sadly suffering from boxers dementia and liveing in PuertonRico handicapped,who do you think would win here over 15 rnds at welter??

Answer 1

Wilfredo Benitez, who gained a slot in the Guinness Book of Records as the youngest man to win the Light-Welterweight Championship at the age of 17 years, was a gifted, intuitive boxer with marvellous hand/eye coordination. Some reports, however, have dismissed him as an idiot-savant. This has been the nomenclature of people who are exceptionally gifted in one discipline but hopelessly ill-equipped to deal with the everyday vagaries of life.

Also; here again I am going by what I have read and I apologise to the legion of fans that Wifredo still has (including myself) ; he came from poverty that we can't even imagine so, when the big purses began rolling in, he was incapable of managing that. Consequently, his family had to take control of it and it was to them, who were no less impoverished than their gifted son, like winning the Euromillions lottery.

Wifredo's purses were not well managed and that is the tragedy of his life. Here he was, beating some of the best fighters in the world - good ones, legends; and I would go to the Odeon in Leicester Square back then in those pre-satellite TV days; yet his frailty was hidden from the fans. His public persona was manufactured for TV, they deleted the "O" from the end of his name to make him more palatable to the US public and made him more marketable and his genius boxing brain did the rest. Sugar Ray Leonard, another gifted fighter, had to turn it on like never before to beat him.

Eventually, his career came to an end and, despite the big purses he had earned, he was not only NOT financially secure, he was destitute. He sank from the public view and was stranded in Argentina without the means to get home. Their was a public outcry in Puerto Rica that a national hero could come to this and the government brought him home. There was a strong lobby for him being awarded a state pension but I think one of the boxing authorities coughed up in the end.

It is a tragedy of epic proportions that somebody so gifted, who thrilled the watching audiences worldwide, could be so badly cared for by those around him. For those who do not follow boxing, it is like Roger Federer or Michael Schumacher falling on hard times and sleeping on the street. Those of us who marvelled at his skills would struggle to find a comparison in another field, Nijinsky or Rudolph Nuryev, Salvador Dali or Rembrandt, Lennon or Dylan, he was up there with those guys and rightly so, he would drop a shoulder, take half a step back or sideways, and deliver the finish so beautifully that I wore out my video watching him hundreds and hundreds of times do the same move.

You may have got a very slight hint by now that I was a big fan of Wifredo and I plead guilty but even I do not think he would beat Floyd Mayweather.

I am nearly 61 years of age and I have been following boxing for all but 5 of those years. I do not think that Mayweather's brilliance will be appreciated until he is long retired. To find a comparison with him, I can only think of two people, Leonardo da Vinci or Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni. Mayweather would be ahead of his time even if he lived in the future. Unfortunately, his shy and retiring nature (wtf?) prevents people from appreciating his artistry. Watch him with the sound off, he could stand on your toecaps and you would not hit that man with a bag of rice.

I am sorry to have to disagree with somebody who is obviously a connoisseur of the sport but you know yourself, we could sit side by side, watching the same fight and each have a completely different view of it - that's boxing. Great question, good luck.

Answer 2

I can tell you one thing.  The fight would go the distance.  Neither was a great puncher at welter.  I would say they are about equal in this respect.  Floyd might have a slight advantage.  

If he does it will be negated by Benitez' uncanny ability to avoid punches.  Not many can do it better.  Floyd comes very close but in different ways.  While Floyd deflects many punches at close range, using his shoulders and upper body movement,  Wilfred avoids them all together.

As great as we was, Benitez didnt use foot movement very much.  He also didnt train much.  I'll assume that he is in top shape here.  He made both Leonard and Hearns miss a lot of punches.  Both would beat Floyd.  However, he would'nt have as hard a time hitting Benitez as did Leonard and Hearns.

Leonard fought Benitez from long range then attacked him after out-lasting him over the distance.  Hearns fought at long range and simply outpointed Wilfred.  Realizing Benitez is the one opponent who can avoid punishment better than he can,  Mayweather would close the gap and drag Benitez into the trenches.  He would turn the boxing match into a fight.

Here is where Floyd would win.  He would certainly be in better condition.  Holding a narrow lead throughout the match, Floyd will widen the gap in the later rounds as Wilfred becomes a little less active.  

Since Floyd hasnt tasted the canvas before, its hard to imagine Benitez doing it.  Benitez has visited the canvas a few times but Floyd wont do it here.  Benitez will survive the later rounds.  

Mayweather by decision in 15

Answer 3

This would be a classic.  I too think it would be conditioning that would play a key role - but even if you assume that Benitez would come in at top form, I still would pick Floyd.

In a fight between two guys with such skill, it would come down to who can make the better adjustments - and since Sugar Ray Leonard, there hasn't been a fighter who can adjust in big fights like Floyd Mayweather.  While I'm not comparing Zab Judah to the great Wilfred Benitez, in that fight Floyd found himself matched physically (maybe even overmatched) early, Zab was matching his speed and overpowering him a bit - so Floyd swtiched gears, created more angles and made it a skill fight, where he had the advatnage.

I think he would make the opposite adjustment here - Benitez would demostrate equal skill at close range, slipping, boxing.  Floyd would have to create more distance, use the ring and use his superior physical tools - his overall quickness and speed.

I'd take Floyd in a very close decision.

Answer 4

thumbs up to galactus177, i couldn't improve on his answer if i copied it off  bert sugar  !!!