Top 5 Defensive Fighters of the Last 50 Years

[BattlingNelson]

After reading a thread on Whitaker vs Mayweather I got to thinking about other good defensive fighters. Thoughts...?

Those 2 guys would make my list.
So it'll probably be:
Whitaker
Mayweather
Winky
Benitez
Hopkins

Pep would make my list if it was more than 50 years back.

[andrewcuff]

Those 2 guys would make my list.
So it'll probably be:
Whitaker
Mayweather
Winky
Benitez
Hopkins

Pep would make my list if it was more than 50 years back.

I've never seen Willie Pep fight.

I watched Benitez vs Duran for the first time today. Amazing! I can't believe how Duran, one of the best inside fighters of all-time, was actually losing exchanges when he had Benitez pinned in the corner. Benitez's defense was phenomenal, both on the inside & outside.

[BattlingNelson]

I've never seen Willie Pep fight.

I watched Benitez vs Duran for the first time today. Amazing! I can't believe how Duran, one of the best inside fighters of all-time, was actually losing exchanges when he had Benitez pinned in the corner. Benitez's defense was phenomenal, both on the inside & outside.

Benitez was possibly the most naturally gifted fighter to ever set foot in the ring. Would ou belive that he only trained 14 days before fighting Ray Leonard and still made it a competitive, hard-fought 15 rounder that gave the world one of the best technical fights ever.

[andrewcuff]

Benitez was possibly the most naturally gifted fighter to ever set foot in the ring. Would ou belive that he only trained 14 days before fighting Ray Leonard and still made it a competitive, hard-fought 15 rounder that gave the world one of the best technical fights ever.

He was so difficult to hit cleanly with the right hand! In the first half of the fight against Duran I think he only got hit about 3 times!

Another aspect I like about Benitez is that his defence is amazing even without backing up. You sometimes find that defensive fighters are always moving away from their opponents. But Benitez was able to stay in range without getting hit.

Amazing.

[BattlingNelson]

He was so difficult to hit cleanly with the right hand! In the first half of the fight against Duran I think he only got hit about 3 times!

Another aspect I like about Benitez is that his defence is amazing even without backing up. You sometimes find that defensive fighters are always moving away from their opponents. But Benitez was able to stay in range without getting hit.

Amazing.

Yeah. Even more amazing when taken into account that Duran's right hand was really good if nor great.

Benitez had some kind of in-built radar which enabled him to slip or avoid punches at close range. Leonard had some of that ability as well but not as good as Benitez.