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FOOD FOR THOUGHT: When Roy Jones was 17 he was boxing at 139 pounds and was still two years away from competing at 156 in the Olympics....when Muhammad Ali was 17 he was a skinny amateur light heavyweight two years past getting stoped in an amateur fight by Kent Green...when Ray Leonard was 17 he was 132 pounds and was still three solid years away from winning the olympics...but when Wilfredo Benitez was 17??? He was the WBA Jr. Welterweight Champion of the World, via a 15 round decision victory...
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Last edited by ICEMAN JOHN SCULLY; 07-07-2011, 10:59 PM. -
IMO I believe that Benitez' accomplishment is amongst the greatest ever. Top 5. -
There were a couple of guys in the old days that started their pro careers at 10 and 12 years old respectively.
LOL.Comment
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even if it were possible, we'd probably never see that again due to the way promoters bring along fighters nowdays. Not saying its bad but I wouldnt mind seeing Canelo in a big fight right now or Benavidez but at the same time you dont want to ruin them like Vargas. Its a tricky situationComment
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it's just so amazing with Benitez...its not like he was an olympic gold medalist or a top flight super amateur...but even if he was, at age 17, he would still be an amateur, and would still be a YOUNG amateur...and never would he be considered for a pro title shot unless he got a good 15 to 20 bouts of seasoning, putting him at age 20 at the very least...but Wilfred was a 15 round winner over a TOP CHAMPION...U-N-R-E-A-L...Last edited by ICEMAN JOHN SCULLY; 07-07-2011, 11:01 PM.Comment
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It always seemed to me his flame lit bright and earlyComment
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not everyone will turn out like Vargas. If you got a pure boxing prospect who knows when to trade or not and looks polished beyond their years you can feed them big boy meat early. But when you have guys with too much pride and power they tend to **** and get caught with shots that will shorten their career, especially with a proven champion.Comment
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Yeah man, that's what I find so amazing about it. Not so much that he was only 17 years old, which in itself is just mindboggling and one of the great feats along with the Foreman win, Leonard/Hagler comeback, 40 year old Duran comeback, and others like that, but that he beat a certified legend and HOF in his prime at his best weight!
It might not have been the very best version of Cervantes but so close to it that I don't think you could say it wasn't. He was a 29 year old champion with a ten defense title reign and would regain it and make another 7 or 8 defenses before finally being too old and past it to handle the young Pryor. He'd been able to beat greats like Locche, De Jesus, Thompson, Fraser etc yet a 17 year old 'kid' was just too much. Amazing!
DLT; well, it's still happening but Benitez was so good that he was able to do it at 17 against a HOF great! Pac is an obvious example but it would really only happen with the poorer countries. He started his pro career at 16 or 17 whatever and was champion very early. If Benevides was maybe from a poorer country we might have seen him long before now as a pro. There are guys that are still joining the pro ranks as teens, just not in the US really.
Many people also forget about Benitez's second great title reign and that may have been better than his first apart from that amazing feat at 17. At 154, he was something else.Comment
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