No. 99 - Wilfredo Benitez

Puerto Rico's Wilfredo Benitez is kind of the forgotten star in the years of Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns and Sugar Ray Leonard.

Benitez remains the youngest fighter to win a world title. He was just 17 years old when he beat Hall of Famer Antonio Cervantes, who was still in his prime at age 30, by split decision to win the WBA Light Welterweight Title.

Despite winning the title at such a young age, Benitez ended up having just 11 "significant" fights - title fights or fights against Hall of Famers. He was 9-2 in those fights, beating Duran for his greatest victory, but losing by knockout to Sugar Ray Leonard and by majority decision to Thomas Hearns.

Benitez was just 24 years old when he lost to Hearns and carried an impressive 44-2-1 record, but his career declined rapidly. He was just 9-6 from 1983 to 1990.

Wilfredo Benitez
Significant Fights
Opponent	Result	Fight Points	Title Points	HOF Points	Total	x Win %	Final Total
Antonio Cervantes	SD-W	75	60	100	235	91.67%	215.4
Emiliano Villa	UD-W	90	60		150	92.31%	138.5
Tony Petronelli	KO	100	60		160	97.22%	155.6
Ray Chavez Guerrero	KO	100	20		120	83.33%	100.0
Carlos Palomino	SD-W	75	60		135	96.43%	130.2
Harold Westin	UD-W	90	60		150	78.79%	118.2
Sugar Ray Leonard	KO'd	-25			-25		-25
Maurice Hope	KO	100	60		160	93.75%	150.0
Carlos Santos	UD-W	90	60		150	100.00%	150.0
Roberto Duran	UD-W	90	60	100	250	97.37%	243.4
Thomas Hearns	SD-L	25	15	25	65	97.22%	63.2
Total (9-2, 3 KOs, 1 SDL, 1 KO'd)							1,439.4
Record in non-significant fights
44-6-1, 28 KOs, 2 SD, 3 KO'd, 1 SDL		3,985
% of fights toward 50 (76.5%)		3,048.5				73.25%	2,233.0
PEAK 5 Fights
Roberto Duran							243.4
Antonio Cervantes							215.4
Tony Petronelli							155.6
Maurice Hope							150.0
Carlos Santos							150.0
PEAK 5 Total							914.4
Final totals (significant, non-significant, PEAK 5)							4,586.8

Boxing's 100 Countdown
Rank	Fighter	Significant Fights	Non-Significant Fights	Peak 5	Final Total
99.	Wilfredo Benitez	1,439.4	2,223.0	914.4	4,586.8
100.	Carlos Zarate	1,124.2	2,707.1	751.5	4,582.8