Benavidez: I'd Love to Fight Ramirez; Great Fight for Division

By Keith Idec

David Benavidez will take a brief break from training camp this weekend to travel from Las Vegas to Corpus Christi, Texas.

The unbeaten WBC super middleweight champion will sit ringside at Bank of America Center to watch his older brother’s return from a gunshot wound that derailed his career. Jose Benavidez (25-0, 16 KOs), a welterweight who was making strides before he got shot in the leg in August 2016, will meet Matthew Strode (24-5, 9 KOs) in an eight-round fight on the Gilberto Ramirez-Habib Ahmed undercard.

David Benavidez will be there mostly to provide emotional support for his big brother, but this also will serve as a scouting trip of sorts for the young champion. If Ramirez wins in the main event and Benavidez beats Romania’s Ronald Gavril in their 12-round rematch February 17 in Las Vegas, Benavidez wants to face Ramirez (36-0, 24 KOs) in a 168-pound title unification fight later this year.

They’re very familiar with one another and each considers the other a friend, but business is business.

“I worked with him in his training camps,” Benavidez told BoxingScene.com. “I sparred him quite a few times. Everybody’s been asking me about this fight with him. I think it’s a great fight for the people, for the division. I would love to fight him. He’s a great fighter and a good friend of mine, but if I wanna be the best in the division you have to fight the best.”

Benavidez became boxing’s youngest world champion at the time when he overcame a 12th-round knockdown and defeated Gavril by split decision in their 12-rounder September 8 in Las Vegas. The Phoenix native was just 20 when he won the then-vacant WBC super middleweight crown.

Working with Ramirez helped prepare him for that tough fight. Benavidez estimates that they’ve sparred against one another at least 15 times within the past couple years.

“It’d be a great fight [against Ramirez],” Benavidez said. “Our sparring sessions were amazing. It’d be a great fight, but I feel I would win the fight.”

The 21-year-old Benavidez (19-0, 17 KOs) will return to Las Vegas on Sunday to finish training camp for his rematch against Gavril (18-2, 14 KOs). Showtime will televise the Benavidez-Gavril rematch as part of a tripleheader that’ll feature welterweights Danny Garcia (33-1, 19 KOs) and Brandon Rios (34-3-1, 25 KOs) in the main event at Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.