Wilfredo Benitez.....today

http://boxing.fanhouse.com/2010/10/07/for-wilfred-benitez-boxings-brutal-toll-never-ends/

Ugh.

Tragic. I knew about it and it's horrible. I'd rather not think about it.

4445Frank wrote:

Tragic. I knew about it and it's horrible. I'd rather not think about it.

When a defensive genius like Benitez ends up like this and a guy like Chuvalo is still lucid in his seventies there just HAS to be a major genetic element to stuff like this. Men like Benitez had to be unusually vulnerable...or Chuvalo is unusually invulnerable.

marbleheadmaui wrote:

4445Frank wrote:

Tragic. I knew about it and it's horrible. I'd rather not think about it.

When a defensive genius like Benitez ends up like this and a guy like Chuvalo is still lucid in his seventies there just HAS to be a major genetic element to stuff like this. Men like Benitez had to be unusually vulnerable...or Chuvalo is unusually invulnerable.

Very true, but notice the endings of both their careers. Benitez retired as a stepping stone to young fighters coming up. I recall a fight between Wilfred and Matthew Hilton where Hilton punished him. Chuvalo retired while he was still competitive. His last effort was a spirited 12 round decision loss to Ali. I think it's a mixture of neurological make up and the actual career.

4445Frank wrote:

Very true, but notice the endings of both their careers. Benitez retired as a stepping stone to young fighters coming up. I recall a fight between Wilfred and Matthew Hilton where Hilton punished him. Chuvalo retired while he was still competitive. His last effort was a spirited 12 round decision loss to Ali. I think it's a mixture of neurological make up and the actual career.

+1

Man that video clip in the article was so sad... I've seen pictures of Benitez over the years as his condition worsened but that was all I'll need to see.

Sometimes I don't blame B Hop for the way he fights.

4445Frank wrote:

Sometimes I don't blame B Hop for the way he fights.

What about Clottey

Groundhog_Day wrote:

Man that video clip in the article was so sad... I've seen pictures of Benitez over the years as his condition worsened but that was all I'll need to see.

That clip was tough to watch.

Just sad.....

It is a dangerous sport. Genetic makeup has alot to do with it. Fighters should get out of the game too soon instead of too late.

extremly sad..52 years old and deteriorating for years..jerry quarry had a similar fate with alzheimers and died young...frank ali was chuvalos last big fight but not his last..

dmar5143 wrote:

extremly sad..52 years old and deteriorating for years..jerry quarry had a similar fate with alzheimers and died young...frank ali was chuvalos last big fight but not his last..

You're right dmar, but don't blame me, blame "Classic Sports", Al Burnstein and ESPN. They showed the 1972 Ali - Chuvalo fight and Burnstein ended the telecast by saying it was Chuvalo's last fight. Bunch of idiots over at ESPN. I'll never trust them for another piece of trivia again. (Note: I have the fight on DVD and just made sure they made the blunder before I wrote this.)

I just saw this thread Gomez, I hadn't heard what had ever happened to the now 52 year old Benitez until I read this article:

"Benitez suffers from an incurable, degenerative brain condition caused by the blows he took in the boxing ring. It's called post-traumatic encephalitis, leaving Benitez in a state of perpetual stare and smiles, and with the mentality of a child. It's not certain if he knows his identity, though, at times, the family says he does remember."

"Benitez's situation is far from pretty.
While he earned millions during his career that saw him win 53 fights, 31 by KO, the money is gone and unaccounted for, Yvonne says. Benitez's championship belts also have vanished. Benitez lives on roughly $14,000 annually in government stipends and a $250 a month pension from the World Boxing Council. However, Yvonne lamented the stipends are often incorrect and pension checks are late."


This is the darker side of boxing folks, really sad.

marbleheadmaui wrote:

4445Frank wrote:

Tragic. I knew about it and it's horrible. I'd rather not think about it.

When a defensive genius like Benitez ends up like this and a guy like Chuvalo is still lucid in his seventies there just HAS to be a major genetic element to stuff like this. Men like Benitez had to be unusually vulnerable...or Chuvalo is unusually invulnerable.

Chuvalo just had the scull of a Neanderthal.