George Benton
George Benton (May 15, 1933 – September 19, 2011) was an American boxer and boxing trainer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[1]
| George Benton | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Nickname(s) | The Mayor of North Philadelphia |
| Nationality | American |
| Born | May 15, 1933 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died | September 19, 2011 |
| Stance | Orthodox |
Information
His first amateur bout was when he was thirteen. He turned professional three years later at the age of sixteen. He boxed professionally from 1949 to 1970 and defeated future world champions Freddie Little, Jimmy Ellis, and Joey Giardello. In seventy-six professional fights, he was never knocked down and was stopped just twice, on a cut against Luis Manuel Rodriguez and when he didn't come out for the final round of his fight with Bennie Briscoe. Benton had a professional record of 62–13–1 (37 KOs).[2]
Benton became the #1 ranked middleweight in the world in the early 1960s, but he never got a shot at the world title. In 1962, after he beat Giardello, Benton thought that he would get a title shot. However, Giardello's manager, Lou Duva, was well connected and was able to get Giardello a fight with Dick Tiger for the World Middleweight Championship, which Giardello won by decision. "Yeah, I screwed George out of his shot," Duva said. "He didn't even know about it till I told him many years later."[3]
Benton's boxing career ended in 1970 after he was shot. The shooter had tried to pick up Benton's sister in a bar, and Benton's brother beat him up. Vowing to kill someone from the Benton family, the man shot Benton in the back. He was in and out of the hospital for two years. The bullet remained lodged near Benton's spine for the remainder of his life.
With his boxing career over, he turned to training. He studied under Eddie Futch and was in Joe Frazier's corner for his third fight with Muhammad Ali, the Thrilla in Manila. He was also in the corner of Leon Spinks when he upset Ali to win the World Heavyweight Championship.
For seventeen years, Benton worked with Lou Duva and the Duva family's promotion company, Main Events, as the head trainer for many of their fighters. Among the fighters he trained were Evander Holyfield, Oliver McCall, Mike McCallum, Meldrick Taylor, and Pernell Whitaker. Also he coached Marvis Frazier during his amateur career.
In 1989 and 1990, Benton was named "Trainer of the Year" by the Boxing Writers Association of America.
In 2001, he was elected to the International Boxing Hall Of Fame.
He died on September 19, 2011 after a battle with pneumonia.[4] A veteran of the United States Army, he was buried at the Washington Crossing National Cemetery in Upper Makefield Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.[5]
Professional boxing record
| 62 Wins (37 knockouts, 25 decisions), 13 Losses (2 knockouts, 11 decisions), 1 Draw[6] | |||||||
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 35-7-5 |  |
UD | 10 | 1970-04-03 |  |
|
| Win | 22-10-3 | |
UD | 10 | 1970-03-25 | |
|
| Win | 7-6 |  |
KO | 1 | 1970-01-13 | |
Beckles knocked out at 2:44 of the first round. |
| Win | 33-5-5 | |
SD | 10 | 1969-05-01 | |
49-46, 46-45, 42-49. |
| Win | 14-12 | |
TKO | 1 | 1968-09-24 | |
Referee stopped the bout at 1:58 of the first round. |
| Win | 9-14-3 |  |
TKO | 2 | 1968-04-15 | |
|
| Win | 17-13-1 | |
KO | 2 | 1968-03-11 | |
Freeman knocked out at 2:24 of the second round. |
| Win | 6-2 | |
KO | 8 | 1967-11-09 | |
Whitaker knocked out at 2:21 of the eighth round. |
| Win | 17-4 | |
KO | 4 | 1967-10-02 | |
|
| Loss | 18-3 | |
RTD | 9 | 1966-12-05 | |
|
| Loss | 20-6-5 |  |
UD | 10 | 1966-08-25 | |
|
| Loss | 70-4 |  |
TKO | 9 | 1966-03-07 | |
Referee stopped the bout at 1:41 of the ninth round. |
| Win | 7-3-2 | |
TKO | 7 | 1965-04-12 | |
|
| Win | 15-4 | |
MD | 10 | 1964-11-30 | |
46-45, 46-45, 46-46. |
| Win | 24-7 | |
SD | 12 | 1964-05-18 | |
Pennsylvania Middleweight Title. 56-55, 58-51, 54-56. |
| Win | 31-13-1 | |
KO | 4 | 1964-03-16 | |
|
| Loss | 23-7 | |
UD | 12 | 1963-11-19 | |
Pennsylvania Middleweight Title. 52-57, 53-55, 51-58. |
| Win | 22-6 | |
KO | 2 | 1963-08-31 | |
Smith knocked out at 2:26 of the second round. |
| Win | 20-1-1 | |
UD | 10 | 1963-07-20 | |
6-4, 6-3, 8-2. |
| Loss | 15-3 | |
SD | 10 | 1963-05-25 | |
5-4, 4-6, 2-7. |
| Win | 21-30-5 | |
TKO | 6 | 1963-04-04 | |
|
| Win | 17-9-1 | |
KO | 3 | 1963-03-07 | |
|
| Win | 25-8-4 | |
KO | 9 | 1962-11-19 | |
|
| Win | 89-23-8 | |
UD | 10 | 1962-08-06 | |
48-43, 48-44, 46-45. |
| Win | 40-8-4 | |
PTS | 10 | 1962-05-28 | |
|
| Win | 34-24-4 |  |
KO | 2 | 1962-04-12 | |
|
| Win | 17-8-2 | |
TKO | 8 | 1962-03-08 | |
|
| Win | 12-3 | |
KO | 4 | 1962-02-08 | |
|
| Win | 7-32-4 | |
TKO | 3 | 1961-11-03 | |
|
| Loss | 26-3 |  |
PTS | 10 | 1960-11-02 | |
|
| Win | 22-1 | |
MD | 10 | 1960-10-18 | |
4-4, 5-2, 5-4. |
| Win | 14-3-1 | |
KO | 10 | 1959-12-10 | |
|
| Loss | 37-10-1 | |
UD | 10 | 1959-10-26 | |
|
| Loss | 47-19-6 | |
UD | 10 | 1959-07-15 | |
94-98, 94-97, 95-98. |
| Win | 52-11-3 | |
UD | 10 | 1959-05-18 | |
|
| Win | 17-3 | |
KO | 1 | 1959-02-16 | |
Jack knocked out at 1:44 of the first round. |
| Loss | 49-10-1 | |
UD | 10 | 1958-11-17 | |
3-7, 2-7, 1-8. |
| Win | 47-9-1 | |
UD | 10 | 1958-08-26 | |
6-2, 6-2, 4-4. |
| Loss | 22-6-3 | |
SD | 10 | 1958-07-07 | |
4-6, 6-4, 4-6. |
| Win | 17-3-1 | |
KO | 4 | 1958-06-12 | |
|
| Win | 10-9 | |
TKO | 6 | 1958-04-16 | |
|
| Win | 1-2 | |
KO | 2 | 1956-08-02 | |
|
| Win | 33-8 | |
PTS | 8 | 1955-10-21 | |
|
| Win | 33-7 | |
PTS | 8 | 1955-09-30 | |
|
| Win | 12-2-1 | |
TKO | 7 | 1955-05-02 | |
Referee stopped the bout at 1:30 of the seventh round. |
| Draw | 37-11 | |
PTS | 8 | 1954-05-14 | |
|
| Win | 44-12-3 | |
UD | 10 | 1954-04-27 | |
|
| Win | 33-19-8 | |
SD | 10 | 1953-12-28 | |
7-3, 5-4, 4-5. |
| Win | 13-3 | |
KO | 6 | 1953-08-13 | |
Franklin knocked out at 2:16 of the sixth round. |
| Win | 17-4 | |
UD | 8 | 1953-07-23 | |
|
| Loss | 63-20-8 | |
SD | 10 | 1953-03-24 | |
|
| Win | 55-10-3 | |
PTS | 8 | 1953-01-27 | |
|
| Win | 30-22-7 | |
TKO | 6 | 1953-01-20 | |
Referee stopped the bout at 2:53 of the sixth round. |
| Win | 23-0-1 | |
UD | 10 | 1952-12-23 | |
|
| Win | 31-9 | |
TKO | 3 | 1952-12-08 | |
Referee stopped the bout at 1:48 of the third round. |
| Win | 61-12-4 | |
KO | 6 | 1952-06-05 | |
|
| Win | 8-1-2 | |
KO | 5 | 1952-03-26 | |
|
| Win | 43-14-2 | |
KO | 4 | 1952-03-21 | |
|
| Win | 25-10-4 | |
UD | 8 | 1952-01-10 | |
|
| Win | 12-2 | |
KO | 3 | 1951-11-29 | |
Goldsby knocked out at 2:57 of the third round. |
| Win | 7-2 | |
KO | 5 | 1951-10-11 | |
|
| Win | -- | Buddy Newly | KO | 2 | 1951-08-24 | |
|
| Win | 17-6-1 | |
TKO | 6 | 1951-07-02 | |
|
| Win | 16-17-2 | |
PTS | 6 | 1951-06-11 | |
|
| Win | 26-26-5 | |
KO | 1 | 1951-04-19 | |
|
| Win | 15-0 | |
PTS | 8 | 1951-04-16 | |
|
| Win | 9-4-1 | |
PTS | 6 | 1951-03-05 | |
|
| Win | 4-0-2 | |
TKO | 2 | 1951-02-06 | |
Referee stopped the bout at 0:10 of the second round. |
| Loss | 52-28-5 | |
PTS | 6 | 1950-06-05 | |
|
| Win | 5-2 | |
TKO | 2 | 1950-05-15 | |
|
| Win | 11-5-4 | |
PTS | 6 | 1950-02-02 | |
|
| Win | 5-0-1 | |
PTS | 6 | 1950-01-05 | |
|
| Win | 22-45-5 | |
UD | 6 | 1949-11-21 | |
|
| Win | 19-8-1 | |
TKO | 5 | 1949-11-03 | |
|
| Win | 4-6 | |
PTS | 4 | 1949-08-08 | |
|
| Win | -- | Chico Wade | KO | 1 | 1949-07-18 | |
|
References
- "George A. Benton (1933-2011) - Find A Grave...", Findagrave.com, retrieved May 13, 2020
- "George Benton Obituary". Sport & Note. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
- "George Benton has a lifetime's worth of boxing wisdom - 11.02.92 - SI…", archive.vn, January 19, 2013, retrieved May 13, 2020
- "George Benton dies; was legendary Philadelphia boxer and trainer – ESPN". Espn.go.com. September 22, 2011. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
- Spiritnews.org
- "George Benton : Boxer", archive.vn, January 18, 2013, retrieved May 13, 2020