WBC interim super middleweight champion David Benavidez is now in a class of his own at 168, and no one can handle him, insists Shawn Porter.
The fawning that Porter does about Benavidez is strange because the hulking fighter has never beaten anyone elite during his ten-year pro career.
For Porter to be flattering Benavidez so much, you wonder what’s to gain from doing it? Does he expect Benavidez to be at the top one day and throw some bones at him, or what?
He notes that Benavidez will likely never get the chance to fight Canelo, and he could be right. He’s talked too much trash in the last three years and has become an overbearingly annoying person that Canelo wants nothing to do with.
Benavidez blew his chance to fight Canelo
Whatever chance Benavidez had of getting the Canelo fight, he blew it by being dictatorial in manner with the way he’s insisted that the Mexican superstar face him.
Benavidez’s recent sixth round stoppage victory over Demetrius Andrade on November 25th was enough for Porter to crown him the King of the super middleweight division without the need to prove he’s #1 by defeating David Morrell Jr. or Canelo Alvarez.
Those two are arguably better fighters than Benavidez and clearly have superior technical skills. Interestingly, Benavidez won’t fight Morrell, which shows his respect for the talented Cuban.
When you’d rather fight an old Demetrius Andrade & David Lemieux than Morrell, who holds the WBA ‘regular’ 168-lb title, it suggests that Benavidez fears him.
Beating the 35-year-old Andrade convinced Porter that the 26-year-old Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs) was the best in the weight class.
Some boxing fans don’t see Benavidez as the best or even the second best after his wins over an old, inactive, smaller Andrade or his victory over Caleb Plant earlier this year.
Andrade, a 15-year pro, had only fought once at 168 before fighting Benavidez, and he looked too small for that fight.
Most knowledgable fans know Benavidez is huge for the super middleweight division, and he’s only able to melt down to the weight class due to his youth.
He probably should be fighting cruiserweight, not light heavyweight, because he’s bigger than 175-lb champions Dmitry Bivol & Artur Beterbiev.
Benavidez’s two best wins:
- Demetrius Andrade: A 35-year-old fighter plagued by inactivity in the last couple of years, he mainly fought lesser opposition during his 15-year career.
- Caleb Plant: Knocked out by Canelo in 2021, and just one fight since then against 39-year-old Anthony Dirrell before facing Benavidez last March.
Nobody beats Benavidez at 168
“[David] Benavidez is in a class of his own. Me personally, I saw it, but I never accepted it, maybe. This fight right here, he just showed that he’s superior to anyone at 168,” said Shawn Porter to K.O. Artist Sports about David Benavidez’s recent sixth round stoppage win over Demetrius Andrade on November 25th.
How can Porter say that Benavidez is in a class of his own at 168, when he hasn’t fought the two best fighters in the division? If this were the NFL, would they automatically make the team the Super Bowl winner without competing for the honor after running through a bunch of teams filled with over-the-hill players?
“Nobody can challenge him [Benavidez] at 168 and don’t even ask me. No, nobody can challenge him at 168. Y’all know what that means. He’s a complete package,” said Porter.
Of course, fighters can challenge Benavidez, but not when he won’t fight the second best guy, and he’s worn out his welcome mat with the #1 guy, Canelo.
“You can’t get to him, and if you do, you’re going to take some on your way out. What you take on your way out is more than likely what you left going in. Outside of that, he’s strong, he’s big, he’s physical,” Porter continued about the 26-year-old Benavidez. “Mentally, he’s connected to it.”
Benavidez is big, alright. The guy looked like a rehydrated cruiserweight against the undersized Andrade on November 25th, and the fight didn’t look sporting.
It would have been nice if Showtime made Benavidez step on a scale moments before he walked into the ring so that boxing fans at home could find out how heavy he was so they could get an idea of how fair the fight was.
“It’s hard not to put him in your top three in the pound-for-pound list. I don’t think we’ll ever see Canelo vs. Benavidez. I don’t. Me personally. I’m still holding onto it. I don’t think we’re going to see Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk,” said Porter.
See what I mean when I mentioned the fawning behavior? Man, Porter is really pouring it on thick, isn’t he?
“It’s scheduled, but I don’t think we see it. My spirit tells me that we don’t see either of those fights. Tyson Fury and Canelo Alvarez, they’ve done a lot. He’s done twice as much as Tyson Fury has done,” said Porter.
