Editing Wilfred Benítez (section)

==Early history==
Benítez turned pro at 15, a young prodigy who was managed by his father Gregorio Benítez, was a member of one of [[Puerto Rico]]'s boxing families. His brothers Frankie and Gregory Benítez having also been top contenders in the 1970s. The Benítez troop was largely directed by their mother, Clara Benítez. Young Wilfred was nicknamed "The Radar" for his uncanny ability to foresee and dodge his opponent's blows.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.boxingscene.com/daily-bread-mailbag-canelo-kovalev-andre-ward-peds-more--143913|title = Daily Bread Mailbag: Canelo-Kovalev, Andre Ward, PEDs, More| date=2 November 2019 }}</ref> He grew up going to a neighborhood boxing gym in New York, where he learned from watching his brothers and other local, renowned fighters practice their skills.

During the early stages of his professional career, Benítez often traveled to [[Sint Maarten]] and New York City for fights. He divided his fights between those locations and Puerto Rico.  The proximity of those two locations to Puerto Rico helped him start to become a household name in the island while building an international following at the same time. His speed, combined with punching power and surprising ring maturity for a 16-year-old, were enough to make him a world-ranked boxer by both the [[World Boxing Association|WBA]] and [[World Boxing Council|WBC]], then boxing's only world-title recognizing organizations.