David Benavidez says he can beat WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol and even knock him out.
Benavidez states that he used to spar with Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) in the past, and from those sparring sessions, he learned his weaknesses, and he knows how to defeat him now.
It’s easier said than done trying to beat a fighter of Bivol’s level, and he’ll likely outbox Benavidez in the same way that he did Gilberto Ramirez & Canelo Alvarez.
We could eventually see Benavidez face Bivol at 175 because he’s planning on moving up in weight after four more fights at 168, if not sooner.
Benavidez said on Thursday that he wants to fight Canelo Alvarez, David Morrell, Demetrius Andrade, and, of course, Caleb Plant. If Benavidez can’t get all of those fighters, he’ll move up to 175 sooner.
Fighting Plant, Morrell & Andrade is a given for Benavidez, but it could be tricky to get a fight against Canelo because he’s not shown a great amount of interest in fighting him.
Benavidez says he’ll KO Bivol
“I sparred Bivol a lot, so I know what happened during those sparring sessions. Yeah, I can beat him. I can knock him out,” said David Benavidez to the media about his belief that he can defeat WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol.
“He does leave himself open a lot,” Benavidez said when asked about his view on the performance of IBF, WBC & WBO 175-lb champion Artur Beterbiev last weekend with his stoppage win over Anthony Yarde in London, England.
“I feel like I could have a lot of success with him [Beterbiev], and I would love to fight him in the future. He leaves his body open a lot. You can really hit him with a lot of combinations.
“It would be an extremely tough task. I would want to go up to 175 and see how it is first before I go to the main guy. But I think at 175, I’m going to be even more stronger and faster,” Benavidez said.
Hearn picks Benavidez over Plant
“Plant is a very good fighter. I think he’s a very good technician. I just think Benavidez is a big guy. I think If Benavidez comes in shape, I think he’ll be a favorite in the fight, but Caleb Plant is a world class fighter as well. So I think it’ll be a good fight,” said Eddie Hearn to Fighthype TV about the March 25th contest between Caleb Plant and David Benavidez.
