SRL-Benitez.

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Have to say, I thought this was a virtuoso performance on the part of Ray Leonard. Strange to think it took me this long to watch such a match-up. Benitez is a fighter I've been watching a lot of lately, and although he was unquestionably a great fighter in his own right, SRL often looked like he was on a higher plain. I was actually quite shocked at just how one-sided the fight was. I knew SRL was going to get the better of the action, but I thought I'd find more than one round for Benitez. I scored it 11-2-1 for SRL before the stoppage came in the 15th. Rubbish stoppage, by the way. Benitez could have seen it out.

The fight was won on the jab, I felt. SRL was rapid at 147lbs. Benitez's game seemed to be all about timing and anticipating his opponent's punches, but I just think SRL's punches were coming so fast that Benitez had no idea when to sit back and when to fire. Distance was controlled by SRL, too. It seemed as if whenever he let his left hand go it would find the target, whereas Benitez was constantly out of range. The first couple of rounds were very one-sided. Not many big shots were landing, if any, but Ray's left was constantly peppering Benitez...who looked shell-shocked. The jab was working so well for him that he even scored a knockdown with it.

You could see a slight shift in momentum by the 4th, but it ultimately proved short-lived. Benitez began to utilize more head movement and was throwing in a lot of feints to unsettle Ray. This did limit the amount of times Benitez was being hit, but he still wasn't landing with enough regularity to win many rounds himself. I only gave him the 5th if I remember correctly. A great boxer was Benitez, but he was being decisively out-boxed here. As the rounds went by, SRL began to use his right hand more and began to bang the body. I thought Benitez showed some signs of distress when the body shots went in. He backed up more.

A few questions. Do you think this has a case for being Ray's best performance? He wasn't being outboxed like he was against Hearns, and the decision wasn't debatable like in the Hagler fight. It was a complete schooling of an accomplished world class fighter who was known for his excellent boxing ability. Also, how many Welterweights could you see throughout history beating this version of Ray? I thought he looked pretty damn formidable. I can't see too many beating him. And lastly, it seems to me in the few fights I've seen recently that Benitez was a more complete package at 154lbs. He looked physically stronger, bigger, and more solid. Do you think Benitez was better at Light Middleweight?

 

I like Benitez, but I honestly thought he was comprehensively outboxed. He looked uncomfortable from opening bell to last. Constantly being tagged by Ray's left hand, and was wobbled and hurt on at least three separate occasions. It may have been difficult for Ray on the night, but he made it look awfully easy. And it's interesting you say "eventually asserted himself as the superior fighter" because I thought that was established in the first four rounds. Benitez was taking a licking with those left jabs.

What rounds did you award Benitez?

 

Fair enough. I was looking to award Benitez rounds but only managed to give him round 5.

 

I personally thought Morales improved from 122lbs all the way up to 130lbs. I know the general consensus is that he peaked at 122lbs, but I honestly can't agree with that. He refined his abilities later on as he was moving up which allowed him to put on clinics against the likes of Ayala, and defeat Pacquiao, two performances he wouldn't have been capable of in '98 as a Super Bantamweight.

 

Deadly against lesser fighters, maybe. Struggled with Wayne McCullough, Daniel Zaragoza, and most people felt he lost to Marco Antonio Barrera at 122lbs. Compare that to his performance against MAB at 126lbs, a fight most people felt he won, and his performances against the likes of Paulie Ayala, Carlos Hernandez, and Manny Pacquiao. I think we gradually see more and more from Erik. I just think it was the title run at 122lbs that has people claiming he peaked there.

 

We'll agree to disagree for now.

I fully intend on watching the fight again, but I thought I witnessed nothing short of a clinic the first time around. Almost felt sorry for Benitez in the opening few rounds. It was obvious he had nothing for Ray.