Hypothetical fights you would fancy Pipino Cuevas to win a decision

At that time Benitez was alredy a helluva a fighter but still imroving... The Benitez that gave Leonard fits and beat Duran,Palomino and Maurice Hope was better.... Tht version of Benitez outboxes Cuevas and shines.


PS and some of you think im biased towards Mexicna fighters .. U know im not if im saying the Puerto Rican will win LOL.

 

A few spoiling Long shots Perhaps
Manning Galloway
Perhaps Dick Eklund
Maybe Jimmy Heir (most ko loses at end of Career)

 

Marlon Starling would outclass Cuevas and enjoy himself immensely while doing so.

 

Pete Ranzany II
Rocky Mattioli
Rocky Fratto
Manning Galloway
Kevin Howard
Johnny Turner
Wellington Wheatley

 

So you pick the best version of Cueves against one of the worst versions of Benitez. Thats realistic. How about we pick the best Benitez and match him against the Cueves of Duran or Hearns...

 

KL,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,NO

How about late-1977, when both were fighting properly at 147 lbs.
Wilfred could no longer even make 144 lbs. and was fighting at 145 + lbs.

March 1977,,,,,,,Wilfred fought Melvin Dennis, a #10 ranked Welterweight, and looked
very ordinary, in an 8-Round Decision win.

Or 1978, that was the year for this fight.

The later Wilfred (Light Middlweight) wins over Pipino, no doubt.

 

Benitez of Leonard would outclass Cuevas. Leonard missed a lot of shots that night.

 

Hard not to think if these fighters ever fought in;
1976....Pipino KO
1977....Pipino KO
1978....Pipino KO
1979....Pipino W Decision
1980....Wilfred W Decision
1981....Wilfred KO
1982....Wilfred KO
1983....Wilfredo W Decision
1984....Wilfredo W Decision

 

PT109,

Melvin Dennis was a Top 10 ranked Welterweight, when he fought Wilfred Benitez
Early in 1977.

Melvin held some kind of Welterweight Title, something called the Texas/Mexican Championship Belt.
A decent boxer, with a little bit-of-a-bang in his punch.
He did rock Wilfred a few times, and staggered him in one of the rounds.
Only an 8-Rounder. Melvin was no push-over though.

 

Benitez is all over the scale.....Bruce Curry nearly knocked him out....but Benitez faked Duran out of his jock.

Probably just depends if Cuevas' left hook connects solid.

 

That left hook would have landed, repeatedly in 76'/77'/78'.

The 1976 and 1977 Wilfred wouldn't have made it past Round 4.
1978,,,,,,probably 8 Rounds.

1980, Wilfred would turn the tide,,,,,maybe even a late knock-down
or two,,,,,,,,winning a big decision.

 

Although Backus only lasted a round, what Pipino did during those three minutes raises some questions about how he would do against a more durable southpaw. Cuevas, a definitive hooker, teed off with rights, and right number seven fractured Billy's eye socket.

Shields wasn't a particularly easy guy to take a decision over. Cuevas was the third and last, after SRL. (In a fine pre-fight analysis of SRL-Hearns I after facing both, Randy also wrote, "Hearns is a harder puncher than Cuevas. I'm sure of it." Shields then correctly predicted Ray's win.)

 

If Randy Shields had any power in that right hand, he may have toppled Pipino
that night in Chicago.

He did land the right repeatedly over Pipino's left, shaking him several times
late in the fight.
And he took everything Pipino could dish out.
Thats the indicator, that Wilfred would have defeated Pipino in 1980.

Who did Randy Shields replace as the scheduled fighter for that Title Bout, in 1979.

 

Johnny Bumphus,,,,,this fight was proposed for NBC Television.

In April 1984, as Johnny would take a non-title fight versus the former Champion.

 

And post fight coverage of course centered on that. Randy typically had a far better chin than Benitez though. Even Hearns couldn't drop him at WW, although Wilfred himself actually succeeded where Pipino, Tommy and SRL all failed.