What happened to Wilfred Benitez?

I'm open to correction but it is my understanding that anybody who participates in a contact sport over an extend period of time has sustained brain damage. For most but not all the damage doesn't physically manifest itself.

 

Certainly but not many of them shot at 25. Anyone who fights way too long is going to accumulate some damage. But the ones that fall off a cliff tend to be guys who took beatings when they were out of condition. How old was Riddick Bowe when he retired?

 

Benitez is more analogous to that kid/guy who was exploited by his manager as a teen and was shot by his early twenties. I can’t remember his name, but he was around about a hundred years ago. I’m sure someone here can help with the name.

 

That's exactly right. He started VERY young. If you are a pro World Champion at 17 think how long he had been boxing.
They say Benitez's father would put him in with adults when he was like 13/14 years old.

 

He's been very sick for a very long time. It's amazing he's still alive. Thank goodness . Tough way to make a living.

 

Nipper Pat Daly?

 

That’s the one.

 

Man I just looked & he had 25 fights by the time he won his first title. That’s insane for a teenager.

 

Supposedly he was sparring with Esteban DeJesus when he was like 13. If that's true, his father should have been imprisoned for letting that happen (and likely encouraging it).

 

I recall an interview where he revealed how little he actually trained for some of his bigger bouts - anywhere from a few days to maybe two weeks for the likes of Hearns, Leonard, Duran. Was he exaggerating for the sake of hype, or was he so sick of the gym he didn’t WANT to train anymore, and thought his innate skill would be enough? Who knows - sad story regardless

 

TBI can affect discipline. That might’ve had something to do with it.

 

He peaked early like a popular kid in highschool. That's what happened. Almost every case of I've seen of a very talented athlete who spends the majority of their childhood competing and continues to do so as an adult ends up peaking in their 20's or they lose interest/get emotionally or physically burnt out. This can happen to a lot of child actors or bright students too. Overwhelming pressure from their parents, peers, the media, etc can break them.

The average athlete is blessed if they have a successful pro career lasting more than 6 years. It's actually very rare to see careers lasting over a decade while still remaining world class and healthy (especially boxing). It's really not shocking at all that a gifted boxer like Benitez ended up like that when he had been fighting since he was a kid and had been partying after achieving success. It certainly didn't help that he had money stolen from his promoter and was stranded for a year or that he launched several ill advised comebacks far past his prime. It was a recipe for disaster.

A cautionary tale for sure, but boxing has way too many of them.