Wilfred Benítez Record
| Total Fights | 62 |
|---|---|
| Wins | 53 |
| Losses | 8 |
| Draws | 1 |
| No-Contests | 0 |
| Title Wins | 5 |
|---|---|
| Title Defenses | 5 |
| Title-Fight KOs | 2 |
| KO Wins | 31 |
| KO Losses | 4 |
Featured Opponents
What is Wilfred Benítez' boxing record?
In a professional boxing career spanning 16 years and nine months, Wilfred Benítez fought 62 times with 53 wins, 8 losses, and 1 draw.
Benítez retired from professional boxing with a record of 53-8-1, which included five world-title wins and five successful title defense fights at three weight classes — super-lightweight, welterweight, and super-welterweight. He had a 50% knockouts-to-fights ratio with 31 of his total 62 fights being knockout wins, two of which were in title fights. Benítez suffered four knockout losses in his career, one of which was against Sugar Ray Leonard in a welterweight title fight.
His last fight was a 10-round unanimous decision defeat to Scott Papasodora on September 18, 1990.
Some of Benítez' best fights and notable victories include wins over three Hall-of-Famers (Roberto Durán, Carlos Palomino, and Antonio Cervantes), Tony Petronelli, Randy Shields, Roberto Gonzalez, and Easy Boy Lake.
| # | Date | Age | Opponent | Res | Via |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 62 | Sep 18, 1990 | 32 | Scott Papasodora | Loss | UD |
| 61 | Aug 24, 1990 | 31 | Sam Wilson | Win | UD |
| 60 | May 23, 1990 | 31 | Pat Lawlor | Loss | PTS |
| 59 | Mar 8, 1990 | 31 | Ariel Conde | Win | KO7 |
| 58 | Nov 28, 1986 | 28 | Carlos Maria del Valle Herrera | Loss | TKO7 |
| 57 | Sep 17, 1986 | 28 | Harry Daniels | Win | UD |
| 56 | Jul 1, 1986 | 27 | Paul Whittaker | Win | UD |
| 55 | Feb 15, 1986 | 27 | Matthew Hilton | Loss | KO9 |
| 54 | Aug 21, 1985 | 26 | Kevin Moley | Win | UD |
| 53 | Jul 6, 1985 | 26 | Danny Chapman | Win | RTD7 |
| 52 | Mar 30, 1985 | 26 | Mauricio Bravo | Win | TKO2 |
| 51 | Jul 14, 1984 | 25 | Davey Moore | Loss | TKO2 |
| 50 | Feb 11, 1984 | 25 | Stacy McSwain | Win | UD |
| 49 | Jul 16, 1983 | 24 | Mustafa Hamsho | Loss | UD |
| 48 | May 18, 1983 | 24 | Tony Cerda | Win | UD |
| 47 | Dec 3, 1982 | 24 | Thomas Hearns | Loss * | MD |
| 46 | Jan 30, 1982 | 23 | Roberto Durán | Win * | UD |
| 45 | Nov 14, 1981 | 23 | Carlos Santos | Win * | UD |
| 44 | May 23, 1981 | 22 | Maurice Hope | Win * | TKO12 |
| 43 | Dec 12, 1980 | 22 | Pete Ranzany | Win | UD |
| 42 | Aug 1, 1980 | 21 | Tony Chiaverini | Win | TKO8 |
| 41 | Mar 16, 1980 | 21 | Johnny Turner | Win | TKO9 |
| 40 | Nov 30, 1979 | 21 | Sugar Ray Leonard | Loss * | TKO15 |
| 39 | Mar 25, 1979 | 20 | Harold Weston | Win * | UD |
| 38 | Jan 14, 1979 | 20 | Carlos Palomino | Win * | SD |
| 37 | Dec 8, 1978 | 20 | Vernon Lewis | Win | UD |
| 36 | Aug 25, 1978 | 19 | Randy Shields | Win | RTD6 |
| 35 | Feb 4, 1978 | 19 | Bruce Curry | Win | MD |
| 34 | Nov 18, 1977 | 19 | Bruce Curry | Win | SD |
| 33 | Aug 3, 1977 | 18 | Ray Chavez Guerrero | Win | TKO15 |
| 32 | Jul 1, 1977 | 18 | Easy Boy Lake | Win | TKO1 |
| 31 | Jun 2, 1977 | 18 | Roberto Gonzalez | Win | KO1 |
| 30 | Mar 6, 1977 | 18 | Melvin Dennis | Win | UD |
| 29 | Feb 2, 1977 | 18 | Harold Weston | Draw | PTS |
| 28 | Oct 16, 1976 | 18 | Tony Petronelli | Win * | TKO3 |
| 27 | May 31, 1976 | 17 | Emiliano Villa | Win * | UD |
| 26 | Mar 6, 1976 | 17 | Antonio Cervantes | Win * | SD |
| 25 | Dec 13, 1975 | 17 | Chris Fernandez | Win | PTS |
| 24 | Oct 20, 1975 | 17 | Omar Ruben Realecio | Win | TKO6 |
| 23 | Sep 1, 1975 | 16 | Marcelino Alicia | Win | TKO2 |
| 22 | Aug 19, 1975 | 16 | Young Woodall | Win | KO4 |
| 21 | Aug 1, 1975 | 16 | Eyue Jeudy | Win | KO4 |
| 20 | Jun 28, 1975 | 16 | Jim Henry | Win | TKO8 |
| 19 | Jun 9, 1975 | 16 | Angel Robinson Garcia | Win | PTS |
| 18 | May 5, 1975 | 16 | Santos Solis | Win | PTS |
| 17 | Mar 31, 1975 | 16 | Wilbur Seales | Win | TKO4 |
| 16 | Feb 8, 1975 | 16 | Santiago Rosa | Win | KO4 |
| 15 | Jan 4, 1975 | 16 | Francisco Rodriguez | Win | TKO7 |
| 14 | Dec 2, 1974 | 16 | Lawrence Hafey | Win | UD |
| 13 | Oct 25, 1974 | 16 | Terry Summerhays | Win | TKO6 |
| 12 | Sep 16, 1974 | 16 | Al Hughes | Win | TKO5 |
| 11 | Aug 31, 1974 | 15 | Easy Boy Lake | Win | TKO5 |
| 10 | Jun 26, 1974 | 15 | Carlos Crispin | Win | TKO3 |
| 9 | Jun 21, 1974 | 15 | Ives St Jean | Win | KO1 |
| 8 | May 11, 1974 | 15 | Easy Boy Lake | Win | KO5 |
| 7 | Apr 30, 1974 | 15 | Juan Disla | Win | TKO3 |
| 6 | Apr 1, 1974 | 15 | Victor Mangual | Win | PTS |
| 5 | Feb 18, 1974 | 15 | Roberto Flanders | Win | KO4 |
| 4 | Jan 26, 1974 | 15 | Joe York | Win | KO2 |
| 3 | Jan 7, 1974 | 15 | Hector Amadis | Win | KO4 |
| 2 | Nov 30, 1973 | 15 | Jesse Torres | Win | KO2 |
| 1 | Nov 22, 1973 | 15 | Hiram Santiago | Win | KO1 |
* World-title fight
Boxing career
Wilfred Benítez (El Radar) is a 65-year old retired Puerto Rican professional boxer. He was born in New York City, U.S. on September 12, 1958. He is a former three-weight-class world champion. Benítez was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) in 1996. His professional boxing career spanned more than 16 years — from 1973 to 1990.
Benítez made his professional boxing debut against Hiram Santiago at the age of 15 on November 22, 1973, defeating Santiago via 1st round KO. He went on to win 27 more consecutive fights after the debut, which included 20 wins via stoppage.
He had his first world title fight at the age of 17 on March 6, 1976 after 25 professional fights, against Antonio Cervantes for the super-lightweight WBA and The Ring titles. He defeated Cervantes via 15 round split decision to become the super-lightweight champion of the world.
Benítez has won five world titles at three weight classes. For all the details about Benítez' world title wins and defenses refer to the "Championships" section below.
Benítez had a total of eight losses in his professional boxing career.
His last professional fight was a non-title bout against Scott Papasodora on September 18, 1990. Benítez lost the fight via 10 round unanimous decision. It's been 33 years, 7 months, and 7 days since this fight.
Championships
Benítez had a total of 10 world-title fights, which includes winning five world titles and five successful title defenses. He won eight of these fights and lost two.
Title Wins
Wilfred Benítez fought for world titles in three fights and won all three of them, winning one of them via way of stoppage. In total, he won five belts across three weight classes.
| Date | Opponent | Division | Titles Won | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 23, 1981 | Maurice Hope | Super-welterweight | WBC | TKO |
| Jan 14, 1979 | Carlos Palomino | Welterweight | WBC, The Ring | SD |
| Mar 6, 1976 | Antonio Cervantes | Super-lightweight | WBA, The Ring | SD |
Title Defenses
Wilfred Benítez had seven world-title defense fights across three weight classes — super-lightweight (x2), welterweight (x2), and super-welterweight (x3). He won five of them and lost two times.
Following is the table of his successful title defense fights, the next section has the fights where he lost his titles.
| Date | Opponent | Division | Titles Defended | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 30, 1982 | Roberto Durán | Super-welterweight | WBC | UD |
| Nov 14, 1981 | Carlos Santos | Super-welterweight | WBC | UD |
| Mar 25, 1979 | Harold Weston | Welterweight | WBC, The Ring | UD |
| Oct 16, 1976 | Tony Petronelli | Super-lightweight | WBA, The Ring | TKO |
| May 31, 1976 | Emiliano Villa | Super-lightweight | WBA, The Ring | UD |
Title Losses
Wilfred Benítez lost two world-title defense fights, and lost a total of three titles in these fights.
| Date | Opponent | Division | Titles Lost | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 3, 1982 | Thomas Hearns | Super-welterweight | WBC | MD |
| Nov 30, 1979 | Sugar Ray Leonard | Welterweight | WBC, The Ring | TKO |
Highlights
Benítez fought a total of 62 times during his professional career, which includes 10 world-title fights at three weight divisions. He put on some very good performances in these fights. These four fights are the highlight of his career.
March 6, 1976: Benítez wins his first world titles by defeating Antonio Cervantes via 15 round split decision. He is now the WBA and The Ring super-lightweight world champion.
October 16, 1976: Benítez successfully defends the WBA and The Ring super-lightweight titles against Tony Petronelli, winning the fight via 3rd round TKO.
January 14, 1979: Benítez wins the WBC and The Ring welterweight titles from Carlos Palomino, by beating Palomino via 15 round split decision.
January 30, 1982: Benítez successfully defends the WBC super-welterweight title against Roberto Durán, winning the fight via 15 round unanimous decision.
FAQs
How many KOs does Wilfred Benítez have on his record?
Benítez knocked out 31 of his 62 opponents. By his last fight, his KO ratio was at 50%. Of his total 53 wins, 31 of them were via KO (58.5%).
What was Wilfred Benítez' first world title win?
Benítez' first world-title win were the WBA and The Ring belts at super-lightweight. He defeated Antonio Cervantes via 15 round split decision to win the titles.
How many world titles did Wilfred Benítez win?
Benítez won five world titles at three weight classes.
How many title defenses did Wilfred Benítez make?
Benítez had a total of seven title defense fights. He was successful five times and lost two times.