How close were the Benitez-Cervantes, Palomino fights?

Yeah....I saw that too.

A case could be made for the existing champs to hold on to their titles probably.

 

I thought both were one-sided masterclasses. I only gave Cervantes one round (the fourteenth). The Palomino fight was closer but I can't remember my score, I'll need to watch it again, but I remember the general opinion was it was dead close.

 

Benitez won them handily.

Khaokor Galaxy Vs Wilfredo Vasquez was another strange SD :deal

 

He completely shut down Cervantes offense and made him look old (which he wasn't at the time) and tentative. I couldn't see scoring that one close at all. Haven't seen the Palomino fight in a long time.

 

Benitez dominated pretty much most of the Palomino fight..the Cervants fight was closer but Wilfred deserved that one too.

 

I have both scored closer than the consensus has them.

I had Wilfred beating Cervantes 9-6 and Palomino by a solitary point.

Most have the Cervantes fight in the 11-4 region and the Palomino fight around 9-6 or possibly a little wider.

 

The Cervantes fight was Benitez's career masterpiece..as afighter and a prodigy...an unbelieveable achievement, IMO.

 

I don't think Cervantes won more than 2 or 3 rounds against him, though he came into the fight a bit as it wore on.

Benitez is much more of a "proper" smooth boxer-puncher in this fight, jabbing and pivoting at mid-range, compared to the more flat footed defence playing counterpuncher that loved the ropes he would become.

The fight and general styles always remind me of Conteh vs Finnegan for some reason though it was more cautious and competitive than that.

My memory isn't clear on the Palomino bout.One i think i'll try and watch again soon.

 

they were not close at all benitez put on performances that were mind boggling he was slick countered brawled when needed:think

 

brawled

 

benitez had underrated punching power and critics were quick to point that out but look at when he kayed hope with possibly the best right hand ever thrown in that weight class the critics were now convinced that benitez is not only a slick fighter with good counter punching ability but can also throw a right with devastating results:think

 

The difference everyone sees in the Benitez-Cervantes fight doesn't surprise me at all. Because I feel it is one of the more difficult fights to score. The reason is because Benitez threw a lot of light punches and Cervantes threw fewer but heavier blows and everyone's 'taste' can be measured by what do like in a fight. More, or more substantial. I had to ride a fine line because I score on clean, effective punches. Having said that, I scored the fight 145-143 Benitez. Or 7-5-3 in rounds. To tell you how different writers and such saw this fight, I recall one article saying the 11th was one of Cervantes' best rounds, and I thought it was one of Benitez' best rounds. So it has a lot to do with ones scoring methodology. As for the Palomino fight, I thought that was Benitez at his best. His counter-punching was brilliant and should be used as a template for all learning the art. I did not score it at the time but watched in awe and feel certain enough that it was a good fight but the decision should not have been in doubt. Zack Clayton, the dissenting judge and referee explained his odd score by saying, "Oh, the sun was in my eyes."

Scartissue

 

Scar, did you have a round by round breakdown on Cervante-Benitez? Would like to compare. BTW, I also had the 11th for Wilfred.

Fair point you make here too about scoring methodology and one's preferences...

 

Sweet, I'll have to rummage and see if I still have it. But I tell ya, if I watched it again, it might be different. And I don't want to watch it again. Man, I recall staying glued to each round as the shift in fortunes was slight but discernable. My eyeballs were hurting after the fight I had to stay so focused. Normally, I tend to have the same card again, but like I said, a pattern shift was very slight in this bout. The only bout I can think of where my score really differed with my previous one was Zarate-Pintor. And to be fair, I did not score the fight but kept it sort of mentally. I felt in '79 that Zarate was completely robbed. I thought it was a good fight but Zarate was a 'comfortable' winner. Actually sitting down and scoring it (albeit 30 years later) produced a 144-142 card for Zarate. Not quite a robbery.

Scartissue