After losing his WBC super-welterweight belt to Thomas Hearns on December 3, 1982, Wilfred took six months off before returning to the ring on May 18, 1983 at the Dunes Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Now campaigning as a middleweight, Wilfred won a 10 round unanimous decision over Tony Cerda. Two months later at the same Dunes Hotel on July 16, Benitez lost a 12 round decision to Mustafa Hamsho. This loss was a major setback in his attempt to become a four division champion, so he dropped back down to the 154 lb. class for his next bout.
Wilfred managed to defeat Stacy McSwain on February 11, 1984 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit to put himself back on the winning track. Unfortunately, it didn’t last. I vividly remember watching his bout with Davey Moore on CBS on July 14, 1984, and seeing Wilfred get dropped in the opening round. He went down again in the second, broke his ankle, and couldn’t continue. It was sad to see, because I really liked Benitez, and loved to watch him box.
Wilfred took eight months off before he began another comeback. He reeled off three straight wins between March and August of 1985, before suffering another loss to Matthew Hilton on February 15, 1986 in Montreal, this time via a ninth round knockout.
Unfortunately, the great ex-champion kept going. Wilfred would suffer another knockout loss in November of 1986, before retiring at age 28. Foolishly, four years later he returned when he was already suffering from early signs of brain damage, and lost two of his four fights in 1990. Sadly, Wilfred is bedridden in his home of Puerto Rico, and survives on the charity and donations of others, including many fighters.
He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1996. One of the greatest pure boxers to ever lace up the gloves, the great Wilfred Benitez.
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