Benitez-Duran at 140

Correct you are, it was Arum. Now, for maximum points, do you remember who advised Arum he thought Duran wasn't damaged goods as he had never taken any physical whuppings?

 

It's my belief that Duran may have overtrained for the Benitez fight. He looked very sluggish after the first 3 or 4 rounds and just couldn't get anything going.

I was reasonably impressed with Duran's 2 previous performances at 154lb as he looked hungry and invested heavily to the body of both Gonzalez & Minchillo who gave him a decent workout even if it was lop-sided.

It's hard to say at 140 as Duran hardly fought there having had so much trouble making 135lb in the late 1970's. At 147 I see Duran doing a similar thing to Benitez as he did to Leonard in their first fight. Aggressive body attack, sharp combinations upstairs and the occasional lacing of the face thrown in for good measure.

 

It's been a really long time now, but I would imagine it was Arum's matchmaker Teddy Brenner, who made that observation.

 

Pretty sure it was, well done!

 

Possibly, but there is a 40/60 chance of Wilfred winning.

 

Benitez always beats him. He was faster and would use his speed. Unlike Ray, Wilfred would not fight Duran's fight and he would stick to his fight. He had to fight Ray's fight because Ray was just as fast. Ray could do everything Benitez could, yet Ray was banged up in his fight with Wilfred. Benitez wins a 15 round decision. I have noticed that big matchups which happened between two great fighters usually have the same result regardless of the weights.

 

dis tread woz wors de bamping iven 4 dis post elown .
extrimli edukeitiv

 

Tough style for Duran but I think at that stage of their careers Duran would have been too strong for Benitez.

Roberto Duran was so much quicker in the mid 70s than he was at 154lbs. His hands were faster and he threw more punches and created more openings than he did later on where he plodded a lot more.

I think Benitez would have success and win some rounds probably early but I think Duran breaks through and stops him mid to late. Remember Wilfredo Benitez was a kid at that point. A talented kid but still not as strong as he would be later.

 

I do agree. I think that 154 might have been when everything came together for him. I even think he would have beaten Leonard in 1982 at this weight. Fighting Hearns is was a matter of Hearns being just as quick and with a longer reach, Tommy could control more of the rounds, but Hearns didn't come close to knocking him out or even landing clean.

 

Maybe Duran could have used his experance to take advantage of a less experanced Benitez. However as young as he was Benitez was way a head of the curve in terms of not only experance, but also boxing skills and IQ. If the fight goes the whole 15, I like benitez to have won enough rounds to get the win.