A Benitez vs Duran fight had been proposed when Wilfred was moving up from Jr. Welter to Welter, and Duran was outgrowing the LtWeight Division. The fight never happened, and various reasons why were bantered around at that time. We all know what happened when they met at JrMW,... a UD for Benitez. Judge: Hal Miller 142-143 Judge: Lou Tabat 141-145 Judge: Dave Moretti 141-144 Would the same result occur at Welter???
I think Duran would overwhelm him eventually for a UD. The key would be Duran's faster feet in his 'Montreal' incarnation.
I think Duran would beat him at welter but i wouldn't be surprised to see 154 Benitez beat Duran at any weight or time.
It's possible Benitez's style would have always troubled Duran and nothing should be taken away from that victory. Having said that, 1982 was probably the single worst year of Duran's career and he didn't really have his fighting mojo back until 1983. He still seemed numb from the No Mas fight, even 15 months on. A fully focused Duran v Benitez around 1979/80 would have been a lot closer.
I would make the SRL Montreal version of Duran the favorite against any welterweight except Sugar Ray Robinson.
People will say here that Duran would win, but Wilfred won his first title at 140 and Duran and 135,and Duran lasted so much longer. I think Wilfred always beats Duran including at 140. Until Duran shows he can deal with the speed of a legend, I don't think we can say he would beat Wilfred. I pick Wilfred UD all 3 weights, maybe SD at 140. But he wins all weights.
This has a bit of an excuse. He didn't have a fighting Mojo.. Well then we can say Hearns didn't have a fighting mojo in 1985 when he fought Hagler and Hagler lost his mojo for Ray in 1987. That is too simple an explanation for Duran, which always happens. It cannot work like that. If Benitez would have stood in front of Duran and fought him it would be very different. People give Duran credit for beating Moore in 1983 a year and a half after Benitez. Remember January 1982,, a little over a year after he last had fought Ray at welterweight. Not long. and he was fighting at 154 before all the other guys Hearns, Benitez and Leonard did.
Dear oh dear. Here we go. Read my post again and realise that this it is not some nuthugging Duran favouritism to say that when Duran met Benitez he was at a low ebb. Nowhere did I say Duran would beat Benitez in 79/80, just that it would be a closer fight. Not unreasonable. Styles make fights and like I said, Benitez may always have had the style to beat Duran. But Duran was still at his peak as a fighter in that time period. A lot happened in that 2 to 3 year period after 79 to change that. Few boxers in history experienced the ups and downs of Duran in the 80s. And arguably no fighter ever went from as high a peak in Montreal to as low a trough as New Orleans in such a short time. I give credit to Duran where it's rightly due for his win over Leonard in Montreal but I also make no excuses on his behalf for No Mas. The only consistent thing about Duran's career in the 80s was its inconsistency. His physical condition and his motivation fluctuated throughout the decade. When he was on, he gave Leonard hell, whipped Davey Moore and gave Hagler and Barkley all they could handle. When he was off, he quit against Leonard, got flattened by Hearns and looked listless against lesser fighters like Kirkland Laing and Robbie Sims. I think Duran was still in a down period at the point he fought Benitez in early 82. He could have fought Benitez two months later and given a better account of himself than he did then or he could have been even less effective. Whatever state Duran was in, mental or physical at that point in time, would have impacted his performance. Back in 79/80 pre-No Mas, though, Duran was a very consistent performer despite his in-between-fight weight fluctuation. He was still in his 20s so could still just about get away with it, plus he had the self-confidence/arrogance of a man who hadn't lost a fight for 7 or 8 years. Duran at welterweight in 79/80 would have been a trickier proposition for Benitez than the light-middleweight version two-and-a-half to three years later, I've no doubt. But note that I still didn't say Duran would beat Benitez, only that I think it would have been closer. So I think you're guilty of projecting your own feelings about Duran onto my post. You can read any of my posts about Duran and see that I'm even handed about his career. If you were as even handed in your assessment of his career as I am, you wouldn't be trying to read things into posts that aren't there.
Popularity is the name of the game for you. Or rather the general opinions held by most. You can have the whole world agreeing with you.
A down period? Why because he lost to Benitez? The logic is rather predictable. I never liked excuses. Even with Tommy Hearns against Hagler and the weak legs. It is ok to save face, but what matters is the win or loss and no excuses. And if Duran is going to plod forward with his legs apart, how is he going to catch up to Ray? .
