Tim Bradley believes that the slick, highly skilled former two-division world champion southpaw Demetris Andrade could expose the flawed WBC interim super middleweight champion David Benavidez on November 25th.
Bradley has seen a lot of holes in the game of ‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) that he thinks Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs) can take advantage of and make him regret having agreed to fight him.
Benavidez looked horrible in his last fight against Caleb Plant last March, getting outboxed in the early going and only taking over after the former IBF super middleweight champion gassed out down the stretch run of the contest.
This is a fight that could determine the next opponent for undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez in May of 2024, as he no longer avoids fighting Andrade or Benavidez without it being noticeable by even the casual boxing fans. Hardcore fans already know Canelo has been swerving both for years, but casuals have been in the dark.
Benavidez needs to move up to 175 or 200
The recent poor performance by the hulking 26-year-old Benavidez could be a signal that it’s time for him to move up to 175 because he already looked drained a month before the fight.
By the time of the weigh-in, Benavidez had an emaciated, sickly look to him, like a fat person who had been on a crash diet to get rapid results. When you see a person that has been that kind of a diet, they don’t look good.
Their head is too large for their body, their skin under the eyes are saggy, and their faces droop. Benavidez had that same look, and it was pretty obvious that had too much weight off and needed to move up to 175 or, better yet, cruiserweight at 200.
“Benavidez, to me, is a fighter that’s getting a lot of clout. Yes, we call him ‘The Monster,’ but as I watch him on film, I see a lot of opportunities where I think a guy with the smarts of Andrade can make him pay,” said Tim Bradley to ProBox TV about the David Benavidez vs. Demetrius Andrade fight on November 25th.
“Andrade is also a left-hander. That brings a lot more than Benavidez has to deal with in the ring. We haven’t seen Benavidez with a whole lot of left-handers, and Benavidez, I think his biggest issue in this fight is going to be his footwork.”
It’s not so much Benavidez’s defense that will cause him problems against Andrade. The weight is the issue. When you get a fighter that is melting down from 200 lbs to fight at 168, you’re going to have problem, and it doesn’t matter if you make weight.
Losing that amount of weight during camp is too much for a fighter or anyone. For the readers that have lost 30+ lbs, they know how it weakens you and leaves you a shell strength-wise before you lose the cargo.
“I feel that he has terrible footwork. He squares up often, and I think a fighter with Andrade’s skill set and experience, I think he’s going to be able to expose that, come forward, pick his spots wisely, move, be elusive with his defense as well, make this guy miss, and I think we’re going to have to see a better version of Benavidez if he’s going to pull off this win,” said Bradley.
“He’s going to have to be the best that he’s ever fought that we’ve ever seen him in the boxing ring because I’m telling you right now, don’t count out Andrade. He’s a sneaky, sneaky fighter, a good, well-schooled boxer, and he has what it takes to outbox Benavidez.
