Coach Jose Benavidez Sr. speaks his mind “20 year old” The son, interim WBC lightweight champion David ‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez, will defeat David Morrell on February 1st and then fight the winner of the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 rematch.
20 or 28?
I’m not sure where Benavidez Sr. is getting that. that David is “20 years old” 28 and it has many kilometers on its odometer.
I’d say Benavidez is closer to 38. He’s been pro since 2013 and is already starting to break down physically, with multiple injuries all over the place. Even if he was 20 years old, he would be a contender, fighting Cuban Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) in the main event in 23 days at PBC on Prime Video PPV.
This will be a tough fight for Benavidez, especially since he is starting to break down physically from a long career with many wars. He also had a lot of fights in the gym because that’s his style.
Jose Sr. also states that Benavidez (29-0, 24 KO) could move up to cruiserweight to face the winner of the unification bout between IBF champion Jai Opetaia and WBA & WBO champion Gilberto Zurdo’ Ramirez.
Beterbiev or Bivol Next?
“We have to look impressive to make history and go up against the other monsters in the division,” Jose Benavidez Sr. said. Fight Hub TVtalking about his son, David Benavidez, who should be good against David Morrell on February 1st.
“This is the best match we’ve ever had. We have a younger fighter. A hungry fighter and it will be explosive. It will be very exciting. This is a fight we need to show our talents and show the world that David (Benavidez) can box, David can hit, he can be aggressive, he can counter and he can cut the ring.
“Well, there are a lot of things that the fans will see in this match. David Benavidez is only 20 years old (correction: He’s 28). The plan is to go ahead, fight David Morrell and have a chance with Bivol or Beterbiev and maybe even Zurdo Ramirez. That’s the plan,” Jose Sr. said.
If Benavidez loses this fight, he can forget about fighting the winner of the Beterbiev vs. Bivol 2 rematch or moving up to cruiserweight to challenge Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez for the WBA and WBO titles. Jose Sr. has been drunk on his son’s success since his days at 168, fighting bigger and bigger fighters over the hill. So, of course, he’s talking like his son, Benavidez, can walk all over them and keep doing what he did at super middleweight.
The Mexican monster’s last fight at 175 against Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June 15 should have been a wake-up call for Jose Sr. because that fight showed he’s not the same guy at light heavyweight as he was at 168.
Cruiserweight Dreams
“We want to take on the monsters in the division,” Jose Sr. said. “Zurdo Ramirez just got another belt (at cruiserweight). Yesterday, we saw another champion, Jai. I think they might face each other, and maybe we’ll face the winner of that. As I said, David is only 20 years old.
“We’re not afraid of losing our invincibility, but we’re not going to do that. I’m very confident that he’s going to come in and destroy this guy and go on to bigger and better things,” Jose Benavidez Sr. said.
I hope Jose Sr. doesn’t freak out if he sees Benavidez get beat up by Morel and sees all his plans come crashing down. That would be the case anyway if Benavidez was fighting where he should have been all along, at 175, instead of melting down to beat smaller fighters at 168.
This is a typical thing we see these days, with younger fighters competing in weight classes they have no business competing in. They can get away with it when they’re younger, but by the time they reach their late 20s or early 30s, the conversation is over. They are forced to compete in the weight classes that suit their size.
