David Benavidez says he will be looking to take former two-division world champion Demetrius Andrade’s head off this Saturday night in their headliner at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.
Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) is facing by far his best opponent for his 10-year professional career against the 2008 U.S. Olympian Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs), and there’s doubt in the minds of fans whether the ‘Mexican Monster’ has bitten off more than he can chew.
This fight has a Canelo Alvarez vs. Dmitry Bivol feel to it, where Benavidez is facing a guy that is light years ahead of him in technical skills facing Andrade, and he could get badly exposed on Saturday night.
Benavidez vs. Andrade will meet this Saturday on Showtime PPV. The price of the event is $74.99. The co-feature will have Benavidez’s smaller, weaker brother, Jose Benavidez Jr. (28-2-1, 19 KOs), facing the formidable task of going up against the big puncher Jermall Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs).
Benavidez ready for war against Andrade
“Demetrius Andrade is the best opponent I’ve ever faced. He’s an Olympian, and he’s a two-time world champion in two different weight classes. So, we’ve prepared very well for him,” said David Benavidez to Stephen A. Smith about his fight this Saturday night.
“I know he has a lot of tricks up his sleeves, but I have a lot of tricks up my sleeves, too. But hey, let’s go to war on November 25th, and I will come out victorious,” said Benavidez.
Andrade is a far more skilled fighter than Benavidez, and it would be best for the ‘Mexican Monster’ not to attempt to get into a technical fight against this guy.
Demetrius is NOT one-dimensional and won’t stand in one place, allowing Benavidez to machine-gun him with his high-volume punches.
“In boxing, when you dislike an opponent, the better the fight is going to be, and the more you desperately want to go after them. Is that a wrong thinking on my part, or is that something you desperately believe?” said Stephen A. Smith.
“I think when there’s more animosity, it gives more of a show and more of a spectacle because you can see it at the press conferences and stuff,” said Benavidez. “For this fight, I feel like we’ve shown the people that we’re gentlemen and that we can conduct ourselves as professionals.”
David wants to take Demetrius’ head off
“The game plan is still the same. I’m going to go in there and try to take his head off in every single round. Now that I don’t have that beef to deal with outside of the ring, I can focus 100% on boxing in this fight, and I’m going to go do my job to perfection on November 25th,” said Benavidez.
It’s highly unlikely that Benavidez is going to be able to knockout Andrade because he’s not a stationary fighter, and he doesn’t lack skills like the opposition that he’s been facing his entire career.
The only quality guy on Benavidez’s ten-year pro resume is Caleb Plant, and the only reason he beat him is because he faded after the sixth round. Until he ran out of gas, Plant was giving Benavidez a boxing lesson, making him look like a slow plodder.
“If you beat Andrade or when you beat Andrade because I think you’ll beat him. I respect the hell out of his skills or whatever, but I definitely have you winning this fight. Where do you go from here if Canelo Alvarez will not give you a fight?” said Stephen A.
“My plan is to be the best in the world in this division. If he doesn’t want to fight me, I’ll fight whoever is in this division,” said Benavidez on what he plans on doing if Canelo, the undisputed super middleweight champion, continues to swerve him.
Benavidez’s time at 168 is about over because he’s looking increasingly more drained with each fight. It’s reminiscent of how Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. used to drain down to make 160 to capitalize on his huge size advantage over his opposition.
As soon as Chavez Jr. could no longer make the 160-lb limit due to his massive size, he was forced to move up to 168 to face guys his own size, and his career plummeted.
“I’m also interested in going up to 175 to fight [WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry] Bivol. I think that’s a fight that can be made. I know Bivol really well. I sparred with him in the past, so I think that’s a fight that can be made in the future,” said Benavidez.
It would be a bad idea for Benavidez to fight Bivol, as he lacks the mobility and skills to compete against this level of fighter. Given how huge Benavidez is for the 168-lb division, a move up to 175 is right around the corner, and he’ll quickly discover his destiny when he faces Bivol.
Scoring knockout is the goal for Benavidez
“Like I said, I’m going to continue to put pressure on the WBC. They said they’re going to make this fight between me versus Canelo after this after the winner of Demetrius Andrade and David Benavidez. That’s going to be the real mandatory for Canelo. I put all the work in. So let’s get this fight right after,” said Benavidez.
By now, it should be obvious to Benavidez that it’s a waste of time for him and his dad, Jose Sr., to be trying to force Canelo to fight him because it’s not going to happen unless he wants it to.
The World Boxing Council isn’t going to attempt to force Canelo’s hand by ordering him to face Benavidez because he’ll vacate or use his Franchise tag to squirm out of the fight, as he did with Gennadiy Golovkin back in 2016 and Jermall Charlo.
What Benavidez should do is ignore Canelo and focus on trying to make weight for the 168-lb division as long as he can so he can continue to get the lucrative fights in this division.
Once Benavidez moves up to 175, his career will likely nosedive, with him getting outboxed by WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol and knocked out by IBF/WBC/WBO champ Artur Beterbiev.
Without the size advantage that has allowed him to dominate his smaller, middle-of-the-road opposition at 168, Benavidez will be over his head going up to 175, tangling with Bivol & Beterbiev.
You hate to say it, but Benavidez is a typical weight bully, a guy that gets over on having a massive size advantage over his opposition at 168.
“Canelo has moved up and down. You’re talking about 168 and potentially moving to 175. Have you ever thought about moving down a little bit to 160 or at a catchweight of 165 to fight some of those other opponents in the middleweight division? Have you thought about that?” said Smith.
“No, I won’t go down to 168. I’ll just go up from 168,” said Benavidez. “I’ve got a big frame, and I’m getting older too. It’s not easy to make 168 anymore, and I can only imagine making 160 or a catchweight. So, we’re going to either stay at 168 or go to 175.”
There is zero chance that Benavidez could melt down to 160 or a catchweight of 164 without killing himself. Stephen A. showed that he’s a casual boxing fan by asking Benavidez about potentially going down in weight.
If Stephen A. had been following the sport closely, he’d have noticed that Benavidez looked skeletal making weight for his last two fights at super middleweight against Caleb Plant and David Lemieux.
“Your prediction for this fight is what?” said Smith.
“I’m going to go out there and knockout Demetrius Andrade,” said Benavidez. “A lot of people say I can’t do it, and a lot of people say I have too many flaws, but I always find a way to win this fight, and I look impressive every time.
“So, I want to shut all my haters up and shut all my critics up, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do on November 25th,” said Benavidez.
“WBC super middleweight champion David Benavidez right here. I appreciate you for being on the show. Good luck,” said Stephen A.
