Fight for fight From 83 to 85 Would you have dropped him back down to Welterweight? Keep him at jr middleweight? What would you have done? Hypothetically
Jr. MW was his best weight. Wilfred was never the "strongest" fighter anyway. He got beat up when he was up at MW facing above average MW's.
How would I have managed Benitez's career 1983-onward? By hopelessly advising him to retire, slashing the tires of his father's car, and separating myself from that ugly situation. Something like that.
Have him fight guys like Duran in a rematch or Hearns in a rematch or Cuevas. All at 154. Don't move up to middleweight and lose the momentum he had with the good fights he had in 1982 with Duran and Hearns. He actually fought well with Hearns, he just lost a decision. He could have still kept winning and had a title fight and won another title easily enough. Moving to middleweight would not be what I would have done with him, and picking a strong awkward guy like Hamsho. I think he would have fought Hagler better than Hamsho at that point. So in summary I would have had him stay at 154 and fought some of the names of his generation like Cuevas,Duran or Hearns again or Cuevas for the first time. I think he would have done well staying at 154.
It's entirely possible that the punches that gave him dementia later on happened even before his prime. CTE takes about 8-10 years after the initial injury to the brain to show symptoms according to Wikipedia.
As others have said, I'd have advised him to retire. It might have been too late already, but everything after Hearns completely doomed him.
It's easy to use hindsight to say you would have advised him to retire. But, at the beginning of 1983, there was absolutely no indication Benitez was shot. The mistake was picking Hamsho as an opponent. He was a big Middleweight known for his strength. All Benitez had to do to get a shot at Hagler, was beat someone decent. His reputation was that good. Jacobs should have picked someonel ike Curtis Parker - a known quantity but somewhat smallish made to order. Then, if Benitez, go right after Hagler. Hagler would have won but it would have been a huge payday.
