Jose Benavidez Sr. Says David Benavidez Stops Jai Opetaia Early

Benavidez Sr. questions Opetaia’s chin, jab, and defense after David Benavidez wins cruiserweight titles

Jose Benavidez Sr. believes Jai Opetaia would struggle badly against David Benavidez after Saturday’s cruiserweight title win over Gilberto Ramirez. Benavidez Sr. said Opetaia lacks the jab, defense, and durability needed to handle David Benavidez’s pressure.

Opetaia has repeatedly been mentioned by fans as one of the biggest threats for Benavidez at cruiserweight because of his size, pressure, and southpaw style. Benavidez Sr., however, says he sees major flaws in the Australian fighter.

“Don’t get me wrong. Jai Opetaia is a good fighter, but he doesn’t have a chin,” Benavidez Sr told MillCity Boxing.

“In all of his fights he gets hurt.

“I don’t think he has a good jab. I don’t think he has good defense. I don’t think he has a good body shot. I don’t think he has a good uppercut. He’s just a good fighter.”

Benavidez Sr. believes many fans underestimated David before his stoppage victory over Ramirez and says the same thing would happen against Opetaia.

“Everybody thought the weight of Zurdo and the power was going to be a big difference,” Benavidez Sr said.

“I think David would stop him in one or two rounds.”

The comments are likely to create even more interest in a possible fight between Benavidez and Opetaia, although Opetaia’s move to Zuffa Boxing has already created questions about whether he will regularly face top fighters outside that promotional structure.

Roy Jones Jr. even suggested Benavidez may already be outgrowing the cruiserweight division physically. Reacting to Benavidez’s win over Ramirez, Jones said the newly crowned champion looked like someone who had to “pull down” to make the 200-pound limit rather than a naturally smaller fighter moving up.

Benavidez looked noticeably bigger and stronger as the fight progressed, which has fueled more discussion about future heavyweight fights and why his father believes opponents like Opetaia would struggle with his size and pressure.

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