Leonard was made to work hard by Wilfred Benitez, but he got the job done. Years later, Benitez told Leonard that he hadn't trained for the fight. Whether or not that was true, Leonard went on to have a great career while Benitez burned out young and suffered terribly after boxing. For those who want to watch the fight online, here's a link to my Daily Motion channel: This content is protected
This was the beginning of a great era. Benitez did not fight Hagler and that was the only missing permutation of this period. Every fight involving the fab five was memorable (barring possibly the last one) even though not every one of it was close. Different styles, different characters, different techniques but every entertaining fighters.
Benitez vs Leonard is one of the best examples of what boxing skills should look like between a supremely talented boxer-puncher, and a supremely talented counter puncher-defensive specialist. Both fighters were in their primes, and in fantastic condition. ( The "story" of Benitez wasn't properly trained is hard to believe when one watches that fight. He looked in fantastic shape, and went 15 hard rds.) One of my favorite fights, and was featured on ABC's Wide World of Sports . when big fights could be seen on national broadcast tv. One of the best fights to use as a example to new boxing fans of what world class boxing used to look like.
Agree that the myth of Benitez training only a couple of days (or even a couple of weeks) is just that … a myth. Like Ali said: Fighters know when fighters are in shape. And everyone can see Wilfred is finely tuned for this bout. Absolutely gorgeous boxing and chess-match … you can see cogs turning in each guy’s head. I could watch it over and over again all day. The sweet science has scarcely been sweeter. One nitpick: I’m positive (in my head) that this aired in primetime on ABC rather than on Wide World of Sports. It was a Friday fight, and WWoS was a weekend anthology series. We got Hagler-Antuofermo (whichi is a really entertaining scrap for anyone who cares to go back and look) on the undercard. A great night of boxing that, as noted above, really kicked off an era.
And you very well could be right Sir! I know I watched it live. And on ABC. But it couldv'e been a special event. As the Holmes vs Cobb fight was, IF I'm remembering that right. CHEERS!!
Hagler-Antuofermo (whichi is a really entertaining scrap for anyone who cares to go back and look) on the undercard. A great night of boxing that, as noted above, really kicked off an era.[/QUOTE] The Hagler -Antofurmo middleweight title fight I watched today. The announcer said it was the featured attraction of the afternoon. They also showed the Marvin Johnson-Victor Galindez on free T.V that day
Yes this was on in prime time. There were a lot of ABC prime time cards in the late 70s and early 80s. NBC had a bunch in the early 80s. I was not a hard core fan yet but I saw several of these cards. It was one factor keeping my interest alive. A lot of casual fans tuned in to these cards.
The Hagler -Antofurmo middleweight title fight I watched today. The announcer said it was the featured attraction of the afternoon. They also showed the Marvin Johnson-Victor Galindez on free T.V that day[/QUOTE] Ahh, I think you’ll find it was a dual broadcast from two locations (ABC did that with its primetime specials) — Hagler-Antuofermo live from Vegas, switch to … I think it was New Orleans? … for Pops vs. Galindez (what a great highlight-reel KO), then back to Vegas for the main event with Wilfredo and Ray.
I always thought Benetiz could have been a real force if he had like 1/3 more snap in that right hand. Or, if he had snap on that left hook. He'd land his nice shots but they just never seemed to alter the flow or get respect from the elite opponents. He sure looked good against Duran though, didn't he? He'd land picture perfect shots but they did not ever have the results of his contemporaries. And not having that snap---to me anyway---is going to cost against elite 154 guys; McCallum. Norris would be a good match. Leonard rematch. The other factor not having the big shots at his disposal is the wear and tear factor. It rears its head. So it can become 12 rounds against a Hilton. Distance fight against Wright. Lots of rounds against a Vargas or Tony Ayala. The subtraction factor==to me anyway==would have been substantial.
If Benitez only trained a week or two before the fight, it seems strange that he would come in so light at 144 lbs. He was really lean and I wonder if a few more pounds would have given him a bit more strength to stand up to Leonard while not losing any of his quickness. In any case, it's a shame that these 2 never fought each other again. They pretty much followed each other up the ladder in weight and I would have loved to see a rematch. Leonard was always a bit better and likely would have won but it still would have been an entertaining fight between 2 chess masters.
