Continuing our journey into the fascinating world of fantasy fights, we present this intriguing clash between two boxers from different eras, both of whom have left an indelible mark on boxing history across multiple weight categories: on one side, the Italian Nino Benvenuti, a remarkable figure in the 1960s boxing scene and world champion in the super welterweight and middleweight divisions; on the other, the American Bernard Hopkins, the author of countless boxing masterpieces in more recent years, dominating first the middleweights and then the light heavyweights. Naturally, we will imagine them facing off in the only division they shared, the 160-pound middleweight class.
Nino Benvenuti and the Suspicion of a Greatness that Faded Too Soon
Studying Nino Benvenuti’s boxing career with the help of period chronicles, footage, and accounts from those who were there, one is struck by a suspicion. The vast majority of the video material available dates back to the second half of the 1960s: these are the years of his debut on the American scene, the unforgettable trilogy with Griffith, the miraculous KO of Rodriguez, and the brutal defeats by Monzon. These are the fights that are examined today by those who wish to place the Istrian boxer in his proper historical context. Yet, a doubt arises: what if the best Benvenuti did not fight those matches? When Nino stepped into the Madison Square Garden ring in 1967 for his first bout with Griffith, he had already fought 72 professional fights (he would end his career with 90), at the staggering frequency of 12 fights a year! Is it possible that he was already slightly worn out by the time of his consecration? This suspicion is heightened when reading the reports of the best Italian journalists on the unforgettable Benvenuti vs Mazzinghi rematch derby of 1965. A fight whose images are now finally public and accessible to anyone after years of oblivion, highlighting an utterly stellar level of boxing. Yet, those who wrote about that fight at the time described Benvenuti’s performance as lackluster… If he was lackluster that night, how strong must he have been in the preceding years?
Bernard Hopkins: A Defensive Master Who Feasted on Sluggers for Breakfast
Few boxers among those remembered as great protagonists of their era have shown such a marked stylistic preference for the type of opponents against whom they could best express themselves as Bernard Hopkins did. He was simply lethal against aggressive sluggers accustomed to persistently seeking the KO: with his extraordinary reading abilities and an astounding defensive technique, honed over the years to incredible levels, B-Hop nullified their best weapons, rendering them frustrated and confused, then taking advantage of the openings they left during their fierce attacks, punishing them with his counter punches. Boxers of the caliber of Felix Trinidad, Kelly Pavlik, and Antonio Tarver, all highly rated at the time of their fights, made poor showings against the Philadelphia-born boxer, who dismantled them without mercy, making them appear as novices in comparison, much to the audience’s dismay. Hopkins appeared decidedly less formidable against those who decided to let him take the initiative and demonstrated the ability to box him from a distance, relying on timing and execution speed rather than brute force. In such cases, B-Hop was forced to abandon his natural style and was not always able to showcase his true class.
Benvenuti vs. Hopkins: The Fantasy Fight!
Weight class: Middleweight. Scheduled Rounds: 12.
Even putting aside the allure of early Benvenuti, who amassed victories in rapid succession in the early 1960s, and considering the more well-documented version of the Italian boxer who starred in the trilogy with Emile Griffith, his immense technical qualities as a true champion cannot be denied. Benvenuti moved with elegance and delivered all his punches with great ease, excelling even in open exchanges when necessary. His career KO percentage suggests he didn’t have transcendent power, but this was partly due to his style, which prioritized speed of execution over seeking powerful shots.
These characteristics would likely have been troublesome for Hopkins, at least for a number of rounds. If “The Executioner” struggled to get going in both fights against Jermain Taylor, suffering from his jab, hand speed, and waiting style, it seems reasonable to assume he would have had at least as much trouble against Benvenuti, who was superior to Taylor in every aspect of the game. By conceding the center of the ring to the American, counter-punching and making extensive use of his left jab, Benvenuti would almost certainly have built a substantial lead on the scorecards, reaching the halfway point with the reins of the fight firmly in hand.
However, thinking the match would be a walk in the park for the Italian athlete would be a mistake. Between Benvenuti and Hopkins, even considering both as middleweights, there was a considerable size difference in favor of the latter. Nino was a former super welterweight who earned a place in the 160-pound pantheon thanks to his class but showed a physical gap against a true imposing middleweight like Monzon. Hopkins, on the other hand, was a rather big middleweight, managing to move up to light heavyweight while maintaining a high level of excellence, something Benvenuti could never have done. As the energy required to maintain a high-mobility fight would force Benvenuti to slow down, Hopkins would certainly have taken advantage of this to impose close-quarter fighting and leverage his greater physical strength.
These would have been painful phases for Benvenuti, less equipped than his rival in handling close combat and not robust enough to immediately push him away and return to long-distance control. With his excellent reading skills, Hopkins, after enduring his opponent’s boxing for several rounds, would have found the ideal times and ways to close in at every opportunity, dragging Nino into scrappy exchanges and using all the tricks of the trade: head usage in clinches, low blows, and strategic holding to prevent the opponent from freeing his arms. It stands to reason that the American would have approached the championship rounds with the wind at his back, even if he hadn’t yet completed the comeback.
At this point, however, a new factor would come into play in favor of Benvenuti. The Italian fought in an era when title fights lasted fifteen rounds, and his athletic preparation took this crucial detail into account. Nino, like other great champions of his time, managed his energy throughout the fight to ensure a final sprint in the last rounds, often decisive in convincing the judges. This was particularly evident in the rematch against Mazzinghi, where after a largely balanced fight, Benvenuti exploded in the last six minutes, leaving no doubt as to who was the rightful winner. It seems likely that this predisposition would have been further accentuated in a twelve-round match like the one we are imagining in our fantasy reconstruction. Benvenuti’s sudden surge, accustomed to dramatically increasing the pace once he visualized the finish line, would have prevented Hopkins from completing his comeback and likely destabilized him mentally, depriving him of certainty at his best moment and propelling the Italian boxer towards victory.
Fantasy Prediction: Nino Benvenuti would have dominated the first half of the fight by counter-punching without giving his rival a chance; Hopkins would have made a strong comeback, forcing the opponent into painful and chaotic close-range exchanges, only to be outclassed again in the end. Result: Nino Benvenuti wins by unanimous decision.