David Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) fights on December 14th. This will be the soon-to-be 28-year-old Benavidez’s first defense of his WBC interim 175-lb strap that he won on June 15th against Oleksandr Gvozdyk, and he needs an impressive performance this time to show that he’s ready for the killers in the division.
Is Benavidez Playing It Safe Until the Big Fight
#12 WBC Jesse Hart is the rumored opponent for Benavidez in a clash that could take place in Arizona. That won’t go over well with fans if the 35-year-old Hart (31-3, 25 KOs) is the opponent because he would be the second older fighter Benavidez has fought since moving up to 175, giving the impression that he’s intentionally focusing on older guys.
Benavidez’s debut at 175 came against 37-year-old Gvozdyk, and he looked horrible against him in every sense of the word.
If Hart is the opponent for Benavidez, it suggests that his management is going to play it safe for him to keep him out of harm’s way until he gets the winner of the October 12th undisputed light heavyweight championship fight between WBA champion Dmitry Bivol and IBF, WBC and WBO champ Artur Beterbiev.
Benavidez is the mandatory winner of that fight, and he’ll make a lot of money fighting whoever emerges when the smoke clears from the Bivol-Beterbiev clash. However, those two are expected to have an immediate rematch, so Benavidez must keep busy. Benavidez might need to fight a couple of times while waiting, depending on how long it takes for the rematch.
Canelo’s Criticism: Benavidez is “Nothing” at 175
Canelo pointed out in an interview yesterday that Benavidez is “nothing” at 175, fighting opposition the same size as him, and he’s not the same fighter he’d been when he was squeezing down to 168 to face smaller fighters.
Benavidez isn’t the same guy without the usual massive advantage he’d enjoyed against his smaller foes at super middleweight. He must increase his punching power and change his fighting style to 175 because he won’t last long against the top fighters in this division. Without the size advantage that Benavidez enjoyed at 168, he’s very average at 175.
His fight with Gvozdyk was essentially a 12-round draw, but the judges scored it wide for him. Some fans feel that was more about Benavidez receiving A-side red carpet treatment. I had the Benavidez-Gvozdyk fight scored as a draw as well, and there are no words to describe how poor Benavidez looked.
The fight showed that Benavidez is just an average, run-of-the-mill fighter at 175. He’s not going to do well in this weight division without colossal improvements in power, defense, and stamina. I don’t see it happening. Benavidez isn’t designed to fight opposition his size at 175 or higher, and his career will soon sink into a quagmire once his management puts him in against a good light heavyweight.
At some point, Benavidez may need to find a way to return to 168 to save his career once he starts losing 24/7 to his opposition at 175 because he’s not going to want to be reduced to bottom-feeder status in the division. Things were so good for Benavidez at 168, and it’ll be a shock to see it all disappear at light heavyweight.
Benavidez’s promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz, told Boxingscene about the plans for ‘The Mexican Monster’ to fight on December 14th. Fans on social media are less than excited about the news, as they want to hear about an opponent, preferably a talented one like David Morrell, whom Benavidez has shown zero interest in fighting for obvious reasons.
Recently beaten Radivoje ‘Hot Rod’ Kalajdzic was reportedly interested in fighting Benavidez, and he would be an ideal test for him for comparison purposes. Kalajdzic gave Morrell a tough fight in a losing effort on August 3rd in Los Angeles in their fight for the vacant WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight title.
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