How Good Could Wilfred Benitez Have Been

He is the youngest champion in boxing history, is a top 100 All ime Great Fighter. So what was his big problem? He knew how good he was and basically never trained for a fight.

When he drawed with Harold Weston he did it on 12 days of training

Close battle with Bruce Curry on 7 days training

Rematch with Curry on 10 days of training

When he beat Welterweight Champ Carlos Palomino he did it on 15 days of training.

Lost to Ray Leonard via horrible 15th round stoppage on 9 days of training

Jesus, what would have happened if this guy ever had a proper camp???

and in case you were wondering I got those numbers from Bert Sugars book 100 greatest Fighters

I always wonder with guys like this if the recklessness wasn't a NECESSARY part of who they are. What I mean is can we really believe that if we added "gym discipline" top Wilfredo's person that that is all that changes? Don't you think people are an integrated whole and if we remove or add a single element that it changes the whole in a more comprehensive way?

Lawrence Taylor is a good example. Imagine Taylor with no affinity for cocaine. But then is he still LT on the field? Isn't that reckless personality a contributor to LT?

Now having blathered on, one does wonder how the Leonard fight looks if Wilfred trains for ten weeks and how much longer Radar's career would have lasted had he been too tired from the gymk to go out at night.

i get what your saying but i jsut think if he goes from 7-10 days training to even just a month he wins his closer fights by wider margin and maybe doesnt drop the Leonard fight

bird good read and again a big WHAT IF...harry greb distained training also.put him in the benitz school of training.these are two exceptions to the rule..either natural greatness per benitz or natural big balls tough guy in greb..the results who knows maybe there the same..perhaps benitz instead of burning out at 25 if he trained makes it to 30...another what if.what if mickey walker did not drink a quart of booze a day.what if he got serious and took care of himself.what if sam langford was white..
greb and benitz are 2 fighters that defied the law of gravity so to speak.good topic though to think about but in both benetiz and greb the results somehow to me stay the same with the exception of benetiz extends his greatness by a few more years.

dmar5143 wrote:

bird good read and again a big WHAT IF...harry greb distained training also.put him in the benitz school of training.these are two exceptions to the rule..either natural greatness per benitz or natural big balls tough guy in greb..the results who knows maybe there the same..perhaps benitz instead of burning out at 25 if he trained makes it to 30...another what if.what if mickey walker did not drink a quart of booze a day.what if he got serious and took care of himself.what if sam langford was white..
greb and benitz are 2 fighters that defied the law of gravity so to speak.good topic though to think about but in both benetiz and greb the results somehow to me stay the same with the exception of benetiz extends his greatness by a few more years.

Isn't Greb a different case? I mean when you're fighting every week doesn't that by itself keep you sharp and fit?

well for starters his father Don Gregorio was his trainer and a NOTORIOUS gambler on horse racing. his father forced his kids into the sport and was a very insane person. discipline begins at the home or with your trainer and when your trainer/father's too drunk or gambling to care and you are as gifted as you are you probably wouldn't care too much either.
i could just imagine wilfredo pulling an iverson..."PRACTICE (TRAINING)...WE TALKING ABOUT PRACTICE!!"

Wilfred Benitez had very strange training habits. That being said, did he only train 10 days for "Tommy Hearns?" I love Benitez, but I never saw a Wilfred that can beat Hearns. Bert Sugar has a tendency to exaggerate. One question I would ask would be, "Was Benitez ever out of shape?" He looked to be in perfect condition in all his fights so he was coming into camp in shape. Most fighters don't spend that much time on strategy especially if they fight the same way every time out. Yes, Wilfred was great and I will always be a big fan. Though, in my opinion, he got the best out of himself.

4445Frank wrote:

Wilfred Benitez had very strange training habits. That being said, did he only train 10 days for "Tommy Hearns?" I love Benitez, but I never saw a Wilfred that can beat Hearns. Bert Sugar has a tendency to exaggerate. One question I would ask would be, "Was Benitez ever out of shape?" He looked to be in perfect condition in all his fights so he was coming into camp in shape. Most fighters don't spend that much time on strategy especially if they fight the same way every time out. Yes, Wilfred was great and I will always be a big fan. Though, in my opinion, he got the best out of himself.

Hearn really took it to another level that night. He got a lead and then said, "come and get me." He believed, rightly, that he was better going forward then Wilfredo was going backwards. A masterpiece.

RUM CAPITAL wrote:

well for starters his father Don Gregorio was his trainer and a NOTORIOUS gambler on horse racing. his father forced his kids into the sport and was a very insane person. discipline begins at the home or with your trainer and when your trainer/father's too drunk or gambling to care and you are as gifted as you are you probably wouldn't care too much either.
i could just imagine wilfredo pulling an iverson..."PRACTICE (TRAINING)...WE TALKING ABOUT PRACTICE!!"

Outstanding!

Also, notice that Wilfred never had an endurance problem. If he fought 15 rounds easily, win, lose or draw, he was in fighting condition. Maybe that (10 days) is what worked for him.

no marble i dont think so..gym work and working on certain things is differnt then a real fight.you still need i would think road work for endurance wind and stanima for example..fighting often had its pluses yes but for overall conditioning a good training camp exceeds the benefits of fighting once a week..harry was a rare exception.he did a lot of late night dancing so that helped the legs and wind a bit.contrary to the myth harry wasnt a big drinker..great actor but ginger ale was his drink..
both fighters defied the norm..most fighters would get killed doing what they did..

Benitez was in line to fight Marvin Hagler,but Hamsho got in the way.Hamsho beat him quite handily.Hamsho did the same thing to Bobby Czyz' title hopes at 160.