Leonard - Benitez.

I actually just finished it.

https://www.boxingforum24.com/threa...corecard-thread.186016/page-479#post-20574150

 

Watch the fight ,,Sugar Ray was doing the commentary and I believe it was the second round when Leonard said,,Duran looks sluggish,, and he was right. He didn't have it and it was visible. This fight was during the stretch from the 1980 no mas fight through Kirkland Lang where Duran was pathetic. He didn't really come out of it until 1983.

 

One thing this fight really underscores is what a mimic Benitez was. Leonard said it was like fighting a mirror of himself.

I think that was a big part of the key to his defense. Sort of like someone who travels who unconsciously takes on local accents after a short acclimation, I think Wilfred had a natural way of slipping inside the other man’s shoes, so to speak, that somehow translated to him understanding not only what they might throw and when, but the trajectory of those shots and where the escape hatches were.

 

I watched the fight the day and time it actually happened. Leonard had his opinion,
but it's only his opinion, could it be Leonard had this opinion because Benitez was
having a easier time with Duran than he did?

 

Benitez took his time in getting going. I always felt he was prone to over-economizing and against Leonard, this translated as him being beaten to the punch consistently, through the early going.

But, he seemed to warm up a bit, after the KD in round-3 and again when the clash of heads caused his cut. Benitez had a reasonable claim for some of the early-to-middle rounds and made things interesting in spells.

Leonard looked, to me, to be quite stronger than Benitez. Leonard never seemed fazed in any of the clinches. He was able to land more comfortably at long-range than Benitez and his mid-range work to the body of Benitez really took its toll. He had almost all of the bases covered.

One could say that Benitez did well to find the range to get his left-hooks in, which he did quite a few times, but every assault was high-risk against a Leonard, who looked every bit the full-sized Welter and who's punches carried venom. Benitez was able to grasp at moments, but not really gain any purchase on the tide of the fight.

A lot of the rounds were competitive; enough to perhaps skew the scoring a little. Although, there was no doubt about who was winning the fight, at the time of the stoppage, in my opinion.

One of the most mature and measured performances I ever saw from Leonard was in his bout against Benitez.

 

Leonard clearly won but the stoppage was bogus.

 

I never had this fight close. Benitez won maybe one round?