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Wilfred Benitez
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Wilfred Benítez (born September 12, 1958 in New York, New York), is a Puerto Rican boxer. He is remembered best as a skilled and aggressive fighter with exceptional defensive abilities who won world championships in three separate weight divisions, and was the youngest world champion in boxing history.
tez, a young prodigy who was managed by his father Gregorio Benitez, was a member of one of Puerto Rico's most famous boxing families, his brothers Frankie and Gregory Benitez having also been top contenders in the 1970s.
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Encyclopedia
Wilfred Benítez (born September 12, 1958 in New York, New York), is a Puerto Rican boxer. He is remembered best as a skilled and aggressive fighter with exceptional defensive abilities who won world championships in three separate weight divisions, and was the youngest world champion in boxing history.
Early history
Benitez, a young prodigy who was managed by his father Gregorio Benitez, was a member of one of Puerto Rico's most famous boxing families, his brothers Frankie and Gregory Benitez having also been top contenders in the 1970s. The Benitez troop was largely directed by their mother, Clara Benitez. Young Wilfredo was nicknamed "The Radar". He grew up going to a neighborhood boxing gym in New York, where he learned from watching his brothers and other local, renowned fighters practice their skills.
During the early stages of his professional career, Benitez often traveled to the Virgin Islands and New York for fights. He divided his fights between those locations and Puerto Rico. The proximity of those two locations to Puerto Rico helped him start to become a household name in the island while building an international following at the same time. His speed, combined with punching power and surprising ring maturity for a 15 year-old, were enough to make him a world-ranked boxer by both the WBA and WBC, then boxing's only world-title recognizing organizations.
Professional boxing career
On March 6, 1976, at age 17, with his High School classmates in attendance, he faced WBA Light Welterweight champion Antonio Cervantes . Better known as Kid Pambele, the champion was 30 years old, had a record of 74-9-3 with 35 KO's, and had realized 10 title defenses. The result was a 15 Round split decision in Benitez's favor.
Benitez retained this championship three times, and then the lure of a million dollar fight with 1976 Olympic champion Sugar Ray Leonard made him move up to the welterweight division. First, he challenged world champion Carlos Palomino in San Juan. On January 14,1979,Benitez won a fifteen round decision to become world champion in a second weight division. After a title defense against Harold Weston Jr, which ended in a Benitez unanimous decision win, Benitez and Leonard signed for a fight in Las Vegas on November 30, 1979. It was a scientific fight by both fighters, who demonstrated their defensive skills throughout the bout. Benitez unsuccessfully tried overcoming a third round knockdown, and a cut which was opened on his forehead by a head butt in round six, and the fight came to an end when the referee stopped the fight with six seconds left in round fifteen.
After that loss, Benitez again moved up in weight, and in May 23, 1981,at age 22, he became the youngest three-time world champion in boxing history by knocking out world junior middleweight champion Maurice Hope in twelve rounds in Las Vegas. The knockout was named one of the knockouts of the year.
His next fight became a historic bout. Taking place on November 14, 1981,the match against future world champ Carlos Santos of Ceiba, Puerto Rico, was the first world championship fight between two Puerto Ricans in boxing history. Ironically, the fight was fought 3,000 miles away from Puerto Rico, at the Caesar's Palace hotel in Las Vegas. Benitez won a fifteen round unanimous decision. Next came another Hall-of-Famer, Roberto Duran, whom Benitez defeated in the same hotel on January 30 1982 by a 15 round unanimous decision. His next fight, on December 3, 1982, at the Carnival of Champions in New Orleans, Benitez gave up his belt to another boxing legend, Thomas Hearns, after a fight that featured knockdowns from both fighters, when he lost a fifteen round unanimous decision.
Career decline
Benitez's career went downwards after the fight with Hearns, as did his lifestyle. In 1984, he tried a comeback under the hand of Yamil Chade, but this proved unsuccessful. On November 28, 1986, with his health declining, he went to Buenos Aires, Argentina to fight middleweight Carlos Herrera. Benitez was stopped in seven rounds. But that wasn't the worst part of the trip. His money for the fight was stolen by the fight's promoter, along with his documents and passport, and he was stranded in Argentina for one year. After much government huddling and talks, he was finally able to fly back home to Puerto Rico in 1988. A touching public moment in his life came when, upon leaving the airplane that brought him back, he handed his seven year-old daughter an Argentine toy doll he had bought for her before his fight there, and told her he hadn't forgotten her one single day during his time away.
Two years later, Benitez moved to Tucson, Arizona, where he tried another comeback under the tutelage of Emanuel Steward, the famous Kronk trainer. This also proved unsuccessful, as he won two fights and lost two fights in this last comeback, celebrating his last fight on September 18,1990, 6 days after his 32nd birthday. This last fight, took place in Winnipeg, Canada, and was defeated on a 10 round decision against Scott Papasadora. After this, he returned to Puerto Rico, where he lived with his mother Clara, on a $200 a month pension provided by the World Boxing Council. Benitez now suffers from an incurable, degenerative brain condition many believe was caused by the blows he took in the ring. Benitez mother passed away in the summer of 2008.
In 2004, Benitez was diagnosed with diabetes.
Benitez has been a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame since 1996.
Non boxing related awards
Key to the City
See also
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- Afro-Puerto Ricans
External links
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