Wilfred Benitez: Teenage Boxing Grandmaster Part 1 of 3

[Boxing Articles]

Written By: Armando Paz While most teenage boys at the age of 15 are thinking about girls, video games, and puberty the pugilist prodigy Wilfred Benitez was knocking out men twice his age. Benitez was born in the Bronx, New York in 1958. His family moved back to Puerto Rico when he was a toddler, and his father Gregario Benitez taught him boxing at an early age. What was given priority was the art of defensive boxing. The constant moving of gloves to catch punches, the wide stance to duck and get low fast, the bobbing and weaving to make the opponent miss. These techniques would eventually make Benitez one of the great defensive fighters along guys like Wilie Pep, Gene Tunney, Ali in his early days, Nicolino Locche, and Pernel Whitaker. It was also imperative for a young fighter who was still developing not to get hit too often. One can imagine that taking head shots while going through puberty is not an ideal situation. Benitez would get quality wins as he moved up the ranks against fighters like Lawrence Hafey in 1974, and Cuban veteran Angel Robinson Garcia, who was fighting professionally before Benitez was [...]

 

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