I think the Hamsho fight hastened his demise. Hamsho was a real bruiser of a middleweight, and Benitez spent pretty much the entire fight pinned on the ropes taking a pounding.
Is there any evidence of BenÃtez being slow mentally?, I have read the towel story and that's pretty much it, he was dating Leonard's sister so I wonder if that was the case since I know people that fought with Benitez in amateur tournaments and I never heard something like that. Anyway. Benitez was a kid getting in the ring to spar with grown man, having countless street fights as a kid so his dad could bet on him, he was fighting Olympic Champions at 15/16 years old and World champions at 17, that's all wrong for a brain in developement. He also became extremely lazy as he got older and his wild lifestyle didn't help.
I think Benitez is a case where he picked the wrong opponent and division to move up to. He was fighting his best at 154 and who knows why.. Maybe his body filled out and his skills matched. After Hearns he moved up and he should not have. He should have worked his confidence back at 154 and he would have done ok.
Eh...his legs were gone though. When. Your shot, your shot. They don't comeback. He was about 25 years old
I am glad he did not meet Marvelous Marvin Hagler in that condition following the fight against Hamsho. It is a sad case of a Dysfunctional Family Dynamics. Benitez was well taken advantage of, especially by his father, Gregorio.
It was a bad choice, and somehow moving up was the case of one weight too many. At 154 he was at this best almost. After Hamsho he crashed.
