At 140. Both are two of the best, or three best, defensive fighters I've seen at 140. Benitez having the edge in movement, power, and speed with the upper hand in the jab department. Locche seems to be the more stationary of the two, but had phenominal reflexes, timing, and counter punching skills. Thoughts?
I started a thread on this matchup a while back, and my thoughts remain the same. Benitez's edge on the outside gives him the edge, with his height and reach advantages.
Very interesting match up. I agree that Benitez has a more attacking style, but I'd probably give Locche the edge in defense which could counteract that. I don't really see either one of them landing on the outside to tell you the truth. Their defenses are both too good and their offences not good enough. I think it will come down to who is more willing to go for it on the inside. I see Benitez taking more liberties, and that will probably give him the nod in the judges eyes, but I'm not sure he lays more hurt on Locche than Locche does on him. Hopefully one day we get to see two guys as defensively adept as these two go at it. For all the great defensive fighters in the history of thesport, I don't think we've ever had a genuine matchup with two outstanding defensive fighters going at it at the same time. Can anyone think of one?
At 140, as excellent as Benitez was I see Loche just having too much in his bag for a teenager and outhustling him in a close fight. The experience and sublime skill and impregnable defense of Loche and his trickery would edge it. I know Benitez had a wonderous defense and was the better athlete but a teenager is just not going to have the same level of schooling, even if thats not apparent from his 140lb fights