Oscar de la Hoya vs Wilfredo Benitez, 15 round fight at welterweight.

I see no reason why it couldn't go either way, just like most of Oscar's big fights around that weight.

 

Benitez at his best wins by UD

 

Oscar just does not do well in any 15 round fight with the greats. He just does not have the stamina.

If this was a 12 round fight and at his peak, I would give the edge to Oscar, He had the speed, combos and Power to edge El radar for the first 9 rds on Points.

 

Hard to see Delahoya going a strong 15 rounds...Benitez wins.

 

Oscar gets quite a bit of undue hate on here..IMO.
He stepped in with the best fighters of his generation...period. Won some, lost some, but fought most of the name fighters. With the current situation in boxing with several marquee match ups not coming to fruition...or coming years after the due date, I think Oscar deserves credit myself.
DelaHoya would have fought Benitez in a close contest...Oscar's main weapon was an excellent left jab...Of the opponents who troubled Benitez, the most common denominator was a good left jab...I think it would be a distance fight with Oscar taking the early rounds, and Benitez coming on later in the fight.

 

Oscar didn't really have a history of fading late....He took the rounds off against Trinidad and Mayweather adapted to win which is standard practice for him. Other than that, he didn't exactly fade out off the top of my head. He went to war with Shane in the last round of their first fight, almost stopped Quartey, and took Vargas out late.

 

I'm a huge Oscar fan, but that said I'd pick Benitez in a close fight as he wins the last 3 rounds and gets something like a 8-6 decision, with one, (maybe two) rounds scored a draw.

At Benitez's very best, has an edge in defense and stamina, but it would be a hell of a good fight.

 

8-4 or 7-5 kind of tilt favoring Benitez, with the majority of the rounds being close and hard-fought.

The traditional championship distance might not hold much bearing on the overall complexion of the fight. Wilfred had a contemptuous, too-cool-for-school approach, while Oscar would generally turn in workmanlike performances regardless of the skill-set staring back at him from the opposite corner.

Bottom-line for me: Camacho and Whitaker had Oscar floundering; Benitez, while not as mobile, would similarly stymie his attack.

 

...Oscar won those fights .

 

Benitez 9-6 or maybe 10-5. Over 15, Oscar has no chance of winning a decision.

 

He won one of them. They were also past their best and naturally smaller than either Oscar or Wilfred...

 

Nice matchup, I really had to think on this one. If we're pitting the same Benitez that picked apart Palomino, I guess I like him by a close decision, but I could easily see this going to DLH on a disputed decision. I can envision Oscar getting frustrated going into the middle rounds, unable to hit Benitez, and resorting to that quick-fisted patty-cake thing he'd do just to try to score points and attract the eye. Better than nothing, I guess.

Keep in mind Palomino did come on a little in the late rounds, and even as slow-fisted as he was in comparison to Oscar, he did occasionally land enough to make it look respectable. If a stand-up boxer like him could make it look halfway decent against Benitez, then Oscar sure could.

I still pick Benitez by close decision though.

 

are we talkin pre-oscar bathtub tranny?