Leonard - Benitez.

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by JohnThomas1, Aug 1, 2020.



  1. Bujia

    Bujia Well-Known Member Full Member

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    Duran didn’t even look sluggish against Benitez, either. Apart from the Moore fight, he was in as good of physical condition as he’d ever be again. His head was on his shoulders that night, too, and it showed in his performance. He fought very well given the circumstances. No shame in losing a competitive battle against a peak all timer when the deck is stacked against you.
     
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  2. JohnThomas1

    JohnThomas1 VIP Member Full Member

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    I'd have to rewatch it but one mag gave Duran just 2 rounds. I've also consistently seen very wide cards for Benitez.
     
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  3. salsanchezfan

    salsanchezfan Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    I love Duran's excuse for this one. "They took me away to an island to train with nobody around. I had to climb a mountain to make a telephone call. "

    Poor Roberto, so perpetually set upon.
     
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  4. Bujia

    Bujia Well-Known Member Full Member

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    I thought it was a 10-5 type of fight, similar to Hagler/Duran. Competitive throughout, but with no doubt as to who the winner was.
     
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  5. Jel

    Jel Obsessive list maker Full Member

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    Just scored Leonard-Benitez. Here's how I had it:
    Sugar Ray Leonard v Wilfred Benitez

    Two of the brightest lights in the fight game at the time - young, undefeated supernaturally talented boxers putting it on the line. Title winning efforts don't get much more impressive than this.

    The main differences between the two were Leonard's greater punch variety and his power. Benitez matched Leonard in speed and defense but couldn't make any impact on Leonard whereas Leonard had Wilfred in trouble on a number of occasions. Remarkable to think that Benitez didn't train for this fight.

    1 10-9 (Good start by Ray)
    2 10-9 (closer but Ray took it)
    3 10-8 (flash knockdown from a jab)
    4 10-9 (close. Ray landed the best punches of the round early on before Benitez started making him miss a bit and countering well with the jab)
    5 10-10 (very tight round)
    6 9-10 (Clash of heads leaves a nasty gash on Benitez's forehead. Benitez is starting to time Ray better. They didn't call him El Radar for nothing)
    7 9-10 (Close. Benitez showed remarkable reflexes again, blocking and slipping Leonard's attacks. A little limited on the offensive side though.
    8 10-9
    9 10-9 (Best action of the fight - quick fire exchanges but Leonard gets the better of them)
    10 9-10 (close. Benitez just edged it)
    11 10-9 (Leonard has Benitez in trouble, Benitez fights back hard)
    12 9-10 (close - either way kind of a round)
    13 10-9
    14 10-9
    (136-130)
    15 Leonard TKO Benitez (another knockdown and Leonard finishes Benitez off with Carlos Padilla intervening)

    I had Leonard up 9 rounds to 4 with 1 even before the conclusive 15th round.
     
  6. Bujia

    Bujia Well-Known Member Full Member

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    You thought Benitez matched Leonard in speed? I thought that was the main difference maker in the fight. Benitez just couldn’t beat him to the punch.
     
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  7. Jel

    Jel Obsessive list maker Full Member

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    Well, I'd say there were points where Leonard was outspeeding him and outboxing him but Benitez also had those moments too. The difference to me was that Leonard mixed up his punches much better and when he landed, he landed with more venom and power - that's what made the biggest difference.
     
  8. Dubblechin

    Dubblechin Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    I have magazines from 1979/1980/1981 calling Leonard-Hearns-Benitez-Duran the Fab Four. When I hear Fab Four, I always think of those four.

    What happened was, in the late 80s/early 90s, a video came out featuring the Leonard-Hearns-Duran-Hagler fights, and it was called the Fab Four. It seemed like a mistake to me by the video publisher. But people started referring to them as such.

    Hagler shouldn't be included. He wasn't originally.

    By the time Marvin got around to fighting all of them, they were well past it.

    When Leonard-Hearns-Benitez and Duran all initially fought each other, they were all closer to their best weights and nearer to their primes. Hell, Duran and Benitez were supposed to fight as early as 1977, but Duran pulled out and Bruce Curry fought Benitez instead.
     
  9. Flash24

    Flash24 Boxing Addict Full Member

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    Was that the Old KO magazine, or World Boxing, when u mentioned that, it hit me I did read that in one of those publications ( Those mags were my life during those years). And if I remember right the 4 of them were on the cover.
     
  10. JohnThomas1

    JohnThomas1 VIP Member Full Member

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    Yeah i thought SRL's speed was clearly above in this one particularly when he let his hands go threw those slashing combinations.
     
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  11. JohnThomas1

    JohnThomas1 VIP Member Full Member

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    Hagler actually fought Duran before the Hearns did. Hearns - Duran wasn't until mid 84.

    If they were called the fab 4 in 79/80/81 it would have simply been because they were closely grouped in weight as some of them didn't match up until end of 82 and 84. I'd highly doubt that four were referred to as such in 79 and probably 80 as well. Hearns didn't beat Cuevas until the second half of 80 and Pipino was extremely highly regarded in 79. He was right in the mix with Duran, Benitez, Leonard and Tommy. If they were referred to as the fab 4 that early the moniker certainly did not represent them fighting each other as it does now with Hagler, Hearns, Ray and Duran.
     
  12. Bokaj

    Bokaj Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Speed and also reach made the difference. Let Leonard get off first most of the time.
     
  13. George Crowcroft

    George Crowcroft Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Gonna have to watch this one now.
     
  14. Bokaj

    Bokaj Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Also, in this case the excuse is that he had too few distractions in training and trained too hard. You can't make this **** up.
     
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  15. The Morlocks

    The Morlocks Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Poor pitiful Ray! Duran even takes over Leonard threads that have nothing to do with him. A fighters TRUE legacy of greatness. Who stirred yr heart and makes you want to talk about them and see them 40 yrs later? Not the Whitaker Mayweather Benitez types. And not Leo vis-a-vie Duran.
     
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