Benton was brilliant in the pocket, dipping and rolling then countering. Minimal movement of his feet. But that might play into Olson's hands. Olson had excellent handspeed at middlweight, and he might be able to initiate and then finish most exchanges better than Benton at close range. Olson by close decision.
I wouldn't say Olson had excellent handspeed. He was more of your strong, workhorse type with solid fundamentals. Benton had the better handspeed of the two, in my view. He was also the more accurate puncher and the more technically skilled of the two. That said, this would likely be an in-fight for long periods given the two men's styles, where it would come down to Bobo's strength in the clinch/body work and Benton's superior defense/punching accuracy. If Benton was on his A game (i.e. off the cuffs) I'd favor him to win it narrowly. Good fight.
Good points all the way around. But what I'm going off of in re to Olson's handspeed is a highlight of his fight with Gavilan. Olson stayed with Gavilan in the exchanges. Also Robinson commented on Olson's handspeed as well. (I could see Benton winning this too)
Lets not forget Olssen was no slouch in the defence department, I'm a big fan of his defensive 'crab' style.
Olson takes the fight to Benton and outworks him. Benton is possibly overrated due to having a style that is more pleasing on the eyes, although I do have to admit that he was screwed of a title shot after beating Giardello. I know not all of his losses may have been "on the level", but some must have been. Olson is a better fighter than many of the opponents Benton lost to.
Basically how I see it. Benton seems to be one of those fighters who is rated more on his "reputation" than what actually transpired in his career. He really only had a relatively brief run at the top, beginning with his close upset of Giardello and then basically going downhill after losing to Hurricane Carter a year or so later. There really isn't much to distinguish him from other good, solid (but not truly great) contenders of his era like Holly Mims or Henry Hank.
