Who had potential to be greater: Wilfred Benitez or Edwin Rosario?

Unfortunately, both fighters shared an era with ATGs. Benitez had Hearns, Leonard and Duran, ... Rosario had Chavez . Those men would have always been problematic for them, with or without drugs.

Had those men come along today they could have reigned for a long time.

 

Easily Benitez.

 

Benitez was an atg. I think he still the youngest even to win a world title at 17 and was a 3 weight champ at 21/22. Just happen to burn out quickly and his lifestyle contributed to that as well. Even without Leonard.Hearns and Duran around, he would have still burnt out quickly and become a shot fighter in his mid 20s. As it was he should still be regarded at his best right up there with the other 3 as his bouts against them showed but he isn’t mainly because how his career fizzled out at still such a young age.

 

Benitez by far. I love Chapo but he’s not on Benitez’ level.

 

Benitez was unquestionably greater.

 

Benitez already an ATG.

Rosario was not good defensively, didn’t have the greatest chin, and was merely a world class fighter. Still good, but he was as good as he could be IMO

 

The Maurice Hope & Duran fights showed where Benetiz might have been his greatest potential.

At WW, SRL was marginly better, and Hearns was bigger and had great boxing skills too.

Plus, his Dad had him at 14 years old, fighting grown men in training camps, which quickly brought
on his physical problems at a young age.

 

Probably Wilfred, but Edwin was no slouch, and if he hadn't changed his style, who knows.

 

Don't know if there is any greater than Benitwz

 

The answer is Benitez.

 

It's a strange question because it seems to assume they both petered out at roughly the same point in the arc of their careers with so much left on the table. Such is the case more for Rosario, I think, by some measure, if that's what's being asked. He started to be a one-dimensional stalker-puncher at some point, and probably left a lot of effectiveness wanting because of that.

Benitez peaked out where he peaked out. He fought the absolute best of his generation and the results were what they were. I don't buy that it was out-of-the-ring stuff that made him come up short against the likes of Leonard and Hearns, he just was never going to be as good as them. And after Hearns, the effects of so many shots to the head dating back to very young childhood (rot in hell, Gregorio) and the natural fade we see after so many years in the ring started to show and he was just no longer elite.

But to the question at hand, Chapo had more he could have done. Benitez did what he was capable of doing, and topped out about where his talent level mandated.

 

Yeah, Benitez was absorbing punches to the head from grown men around the age of 13. He had became slightly mentally handicapped even during his prime I once read.

Rosario simply didn’t love boxing that much by the time he was 21 or 22. His drug problem was real too. It’s a shame because by all accounts he was a nice, humble man from the countryside but put the wrong things around some people and they get drawn in.

It cost him his marriage, his kids, his prime and then ultimately his life.

 

Sad to read that. I knew he died of an edema of the lining of the heart that was drug-related, but not much more than that.

 

If you see where he lived you’d think the temptation would be less. Very nice and peaceful compared to the relative hustle and bustle of San Juan or Bayamón. Rivers, nice places to fish and relax and he was a guy that would spend a lot of time doing that. He also liked to sing a lot too so maybe at bars and such he was exposed to drugs and he got hooked. Gomez and Benitez’ lifestyle choices were dictated more Im sure by how easy it is to obtain such things and be in the party scene so much. Cotto I heard a lot of locals say is a public drunk and not nice to people when wasted. Tito was the exact opposite if you see him in public it’s giving stuff away and being nice to everyone.

Boxing just became a job to Chapo very early on too.