Wilfred Benitez, Champion at 17

El Radar was a great, great boxer. He almost beat SRL, just on natural gifts alone (his aversion to training being well-known). Had maybe the best defensive skills ever - made Sugar Ray, Hearns and Duran miss like nobody ever before or since. But boxing surely took a horrible toll on him - maybe because he started so young? Last I saw/heard of him he was in a really bad way - it's sad...

His KO of Maurice Hope was what got me into boxing.

Benitez was heavily underrated as a fighter

watching him and leonard battle it out was one of my childhood memories!! top stuff. :cool:

Benitez was amazing. Had he taken the sport as seriously as he should have, we may be talking about being one the greatest fighters in history. But.....along with winning at such a young age...came being washed-up at a young age. Benitez was a young man while being an old fighter.

Ironically I just found this article on Max Kellermans site: Wilfred Benitez, 53-8-1 (31 KO) Reign and defenses: 1976-1979, 3 at Junior Welter Nowadays, fans and insiders crow about a guy fighting on TV if he’s 18 years old. Consider the case of Benitez, who challenged a living legend in Antonio Cervantes at age 17, and beat him. After winning the world title via split decision, Puerto Rico’s most beloved fighter of the 1970s and 80s emerged. Erratic training habits cursed him throughout his career, but his natural gifts were so superb, you wonder what he could’ve been had he had proper dedication Blessed with reflexes, speed, and keen anticipation, Benitez made three defenses, the last one a knockout of Ray Guerrero after the WBA stripped him. Liked to taunt foes, making them miss shots by inches, then countering with quick shots. He moved up to welterweight, and played a role in the neck-deep 147 and 154-lb. matches of the time, losing to Sugar Ray Leonard (TKO 15), decisioning Roberto Duran and losing a close points duke to Tommy Hearns. At 140 lbs. Benitez was damn near perfect, and although in retrospect he may not have physically peaked here, the composure and craftiness the 17 year-old showed against Cervantes will probably never be seen again from such a young fighter