Jose Benavidez Jr. predicts he will knock out unbeaten middleweight Jermall Charlo in their 163-lb catchweight fight this Saturday night on Showtime PPV.
Jermall (32-0, 22 KOs) is the favorite in this fight, and most boxing fans feel that he’s too big, too strong, and too talented for little Jose Jr. (28-2-1, 19 KOs), who has fought at 140 & 147 during his career.
It might be good enough for Jose Benavidez Jr. to put up a good fight and go down swinging against Charlo. That would be a moral victory for Benavidez Jr if he could go the ten round distance.
No one is expecting Jose Jr. to make it the full ten rounds against Jermall, so that would be quite an accomplishment if he does because he’s NOT a middleweight, nor is he one of the better fighters at 147.
He’s just the brother of David Benavidez, which is clearly why he’s gotten this opportunity to face Jermall.
David Benavidez, headlining against former two-division world champion Demetrius Andrade in the main event on Saturday, predicts that Jose Jr. will stop Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs) with a body shot.
It’s a formidable task for Benavidez Jr. to defeat Jermall by any method, as he doesn’t have a huge size advantage over him like his brother, David Benavidez, typically enjoys in his fights at 168, and he’s not a big puncher, even for welterweight standards.
Benavidez predicts Jose Jr. knocks out Jermall with body shot
“That’s if he doesn’t start sweating more than last time,” said Jose Benavidez Jr. to Fight Hub TV on his about to get his first face-off with Jermall Charlo when they meet for the final press conference this week ahead of Saturday’s co-feature bout on Showtime PPV.
“We had a great camp and trained hard. We’re ready. We’re motivated and ready to go.”
In looking through Jose Benavidez’s Jr’s mostly barren 13-year career resume, these are his best wins:
- Mauricio Herrera – 2014
- Jose Paez Jr
- Henry Aurad
- Francisco Santana
Herrera was a contender at 140 many years ago, but he never made the grade to win a world title. If you saw that fight, Benavidez Jr. won a questionable decision and was very lucky with the scoring.
This writer had Herrera winning easily, as Benavidez Jr. fought with his back against the ropes the entire contest, getting nailed with everything but the kitchen sink.
“I feel good. We had an amazing camp,” said a very thin-looking David Benavidez. “Now, it’s time to go. The weight is good, the mentality is good. Everything is good. Now, it’s time to put in the work on Saturday.
“Like I said, we’re ready. We don’t have much to say. We’re ready to go. It’s fight week. We want to get the show on the road,” said Benavidez Jr. “We’re going to show the boys what we got.”
“He’s going to knock him the f*** out. He’s going to knock out Charlo,” said David Benavidez about Jose Jr. in his chief support bout against unbeaten Jermall. “In my opinion, he’s going to knock him out with a body shot.
“It’s going to be a great fight. I’m really excited to see that. You guys are in for a treat.”
“He’s going to fall. I’m going to wait and let you guys see what he’s going to fall with. I’m going to keep that as a surprise,” said Benavidez Jr. about Jermall Charlo. “Yeah, for sure. I said that in previous interviews,” said Jose Jr. when asked if David Benavidez would stop Demetrius Andrade on Saturday night.
You can’t blame Jose Jr. for talking bravely, but it’s unlikely that he believes what he’s saying because he knows that he’s never beaten a world champion-level fighter. When he has stepped up twice in his career against championship-level fighters, he’s lost against Terence Crawford and Danny Garcia.
“He’s just too strong. We’re ready, and we’re hungry right now. We’re ready to eat. Probably a body shot, right hand, but the guy [Benavidez] throw a s*** ton of punches, so it’s kind of hard to say what punches,” said Jose Jr. on what shot that Benavidez will KO Andrade with.
“I’ve been working on so much stuff. I can see so much ways it could end,” said Benavidez about his fight with Demetrius. “I’m very excited, and like I said, I work extremely hard and I’m excited to put on a show for the people.”
