Because Benitez was not the all-time superstar great boxer that people think he was. Bruce Curry- check out his fights with Monroe brooks, good fights-was pretty good, and benitez wasn't great. He had specific skills but he wasn't great.
I thought palomino won that fight...but I haven't seen it in more than 25 years.
Keep in mind Benitez had just turned 19 years old at the time and was fighting men. Consider how many distractions a teenager can have, especially as a star.
And I disagree, Benitez was a special fighter. Uncanny defense and a radar like ability to see punches before they arrived. Beating Cervantes when he was 17 was an astonishing feat. "Underrated" would be the word I'm looking for!
Because Benitez was not the all-time superstar great boxer that people think he was. Bruce Curry- check out his fights with Monroe brooks, good fights-was pretty good, and benitez wasn't great. He had specific skills but he wasn't great.
I thought palomino won that fight...but I haven't seen it in more than 25 years.
I agree with you that Benitez is somewhat overrated because of his unprecedented peak as a teenager. Curry was a hard puncher (harder than his brother), but Harold Weston wasn't and he gave Benitez two very tough fights. Admittedly at his very best Benitez was a top rate fighter. Just too short a peak to be rated as high as he usually is. The one punch KO over Hope made it appear that he was a much harder puncher than he really was. I've never seen the Palomino fight.
I agree with you that Benitez is somewhat overrated because of his unprecedented peak as a teenager. Curry was a hard puncher (harder than his brother), but Harold Weston wasn't and he gave Benitez two very tough fights. Admittedly at his very best Benitez was a top rate fighter. Just too short a peak to be rated as high as he usually is. The one punch KO over Hope made it appear that he was a much harder puncher than he really was. I've never seen the Palomino fight.
I think that Benitez was, for lack of a better term, an idiot/savant. You read about the things that happened while at D'Amato's gym in the Catskills (defecating in his pants after gorging on chicken and rice then hiding the mess in the closet, according to some accounts) and his subsequent life, it is clear he had issues.
But he also clearly had skills in the ring. Given the two, it doesn't seem unlikely to me that sometimes his boxing ability would slip.
I think that Benitez was, for lack of a better term, an idiot/savant. You read about the things that happened while at D'Amato's gym in the Catskills (defecating in his pants after gorging on chicken and rice then hiding the mess in the closet, according to some accounts) and his subsequent life, it is clear he had issues.
But he also clearly had skills in the ring. Given the two, it doesn't seem unlikely to me that sometimes his boxing ability would slip.
Wow, I never heard that story, lol. But it was apparent that Benitez was, to put it nicely, offbeat. Factor that in with taking too many punches and drug abuse and that's why he is in the poor state he is today.
Wow, I never heard that story, lol. But it was apparent that Benitez was, to put it nicely, offbeat. Factor that in with taking too many punches and drug abuse and that's why he is in the poor state he is today.
I read that in several places back in the 90s...some of the books about tyson, maybe?
Because Benitez was not the all-time superstar great boxer that people think he was. Bruce Curry- check out his fights with Monroe brooks, good fights-was pretty good, and benitez wasn't great. He had specific skills but he wasn't great.
I thought palomino won that fight...but I haven't seen it in more than 25 years.
I agree that Benitez sometimes gets overrated on boxing forums. But Benitez clearly deserved the decision against Palomino. Actually, that was one of Benitez best performances. It was competitive but I've watched that fight more than once and I don't see a case for Palomino winning.
Comment