David Benavidez has no shortage of HUGE fights on his radar. In an exclusive interview with BoxingScene, Jose Benavidez Sr. makes it clear that David still wants the biggest names at 175lbs including Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev. Benavidez has previously said those are two fights he wants to make as he pursues more titles and major challenges. But there’s another name that could make things very interesting: Andy Ruiz Jr. Jose discusses the possibility of an all-Mexican showdown between Benavidez and the former heavyweight champion, along with David’s plans across multiple divisions. And with a potential Jai Opetaia showdown also building after the pair came face-to-face following Opetaia’s latest victory, Benavidez has some massive options ahead.
ProboxTV’s championship series is now on the ProBoxTV YouTube channel for $5/month.
Learn More
Stock photoSix of BoxingScene’s writers – Tris Dixon, David Greisman, Kieran Mulvaney, Lance Pugmire, Eric Raskin and Elliot Worsell – have been recognized in this year’s “Bernies” competition, which honors the best boxing writing among members of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
That includes:
• Three first-place awards – Dixon, Mulvaney and Pugmire
• Two second-place awards – Raskin and Worsell
• Five third-place awards – two for Worsell; one apiece for Greisman and Raskin; and one for a BoxingScene article written by former staff writer Thomas Gerbasi
• Eight honorable mentions – four for Dixon; and one apiece for Greisman, Mulvaney, Raskin and Worsell
Tris Dixon, BoxingScene’s editor-in-chief, was recognized five times in total, including first-place in the event coverage category for “All-action hero Naoya Inoue climbs off the canvas to violently knock out Luis Nery.”
Dixon’s four honorable mentions were:
• News story: “BoxRec vs. Fight Fax is the big record-keeping fight of 2024”
• Feature story under 1,500 words: “Tokyo Diary: What it’s like to cover a Naoya Inoue fight In Japan”
• Investigative reporting: “How much could the Saudi Arabia mirage eventually cost boxing?”
Kieran Mulvaney earned a first-place nod in the column category for “Prichard Colon, Gerald McClellan, and boxing's duty of care” and an honorable mention in the feature story over 1,500 words category for “JoJo Diaz surveys the damage he left behind and looks ahead to a new beginning.”
Lance Pugmire topped the feature story over 1,500 words category with “George Foreman parts with car collection: ‘I just closed my eyes and let them all go.’”
Elliot Worsell’s four awards included:
• Second place, event coverage: “Warrior Spirit: Daniel Dubois sends Anthony Joshua a step closer to the garden”
• Third place, news story: “Forget Imane Khelif and focus your energy on Jarrell Miller instead”
• Third place, feature story under 1,500 words: “Pure Surreal: Four months after his father’s death, Jake Limond prepares to fight without him”
• Honorable mention, investigative reporting: “Drying out: The discomfort of watching a boxer cut weight”
Eric Raskin’s three awards included:
• Second place, feature story under 1,500 words: “The fight for ‘The Featherweight’: James Madio, Willie Pep and a tale of perfect timing”
• Third place, column: “Too much boxing: Riyadh Season inadvertently makes the case against ‘supercards’”
• Honorable mention, investigative reporting: “The International Boxing Hall of Fame at 35: Is it time to update the process?”
David Greisman received a third-place nod in the event coverage category for “Tszyu-Fundora: Bad luck, good intentions and difficult decisions” and an honorable mention in the column category for “Ryan Garcia: Sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
Former staff writer Thomas Gerbasi received a third-place award in the feature story over 1,500 words category for his BoxingScene article, “All gas, no brakes, Heather Hardy’s boxing journey continues – on the safe side of the ropes.” Gerbasi also earned a third-place award in the investigative reporting category for “Divisions,” an article that ran in The Ring magazine.
Former staff writer Manouk Akopyan received an honorable mention in the news story category for an article he wrote for the Los Angeles Times.
BoxingScene’s team also did well in the previous year’s competition.
BoxingScene congratulates its current and former contributors, as well as all of the other talented boxing writers whose work in 2024 was deservingly recognized.
The following is the official news release from the Boxing Writers Association of America:
BoxingScene.com was the big winner in the 2024 Boxing Writers Association of America’s “Bernie” Writing Awards.
Between the first-, second-, third-place finishers and honorable mentions, BoxingScene.com grabbed 18 Bernies.
Thomas Hauser captured first place in both the Boxing News Story and Boxing Investigative Reporting categories, and Elliot Worsell captured second place in the Boxing Event Coverage category and tied for third in the Boxing News Story category. Thomas Gerbasi captured two third-place finishes in the Boxing Feature (over 1,500 words) and the Boxing Investigating Reporting categories as the big individual winners.
The BWAA’s 100th Annual Awards dinner is Wednesday, April 30 at the Edison Ballroom, 240 W. 47th St, New York, NY. Cocktails are at 7 p.m. while the dinner and awards starts at 8:15 p.m. Tickets are $275 per person.
The complete list of winners and honorable mention finishers is as follows:
BOXING EVENT COVERAGE
First Place
TRIS DIXON, “All-Action Hero Naoya Inoue Climbs Off the Canvas to Violently Knock Out Luis Nery,” BoxingScene.com, May 6, 2024
Second Place
ELLIOT WORSELL, “Warrior Spirit: Daniel Dubois Sends Anthony Joshua a Step Closer to the Garden,” BoxingScene.com, September 22, 2024
Third Place
DAVID GREISMAN, “Tszyu – Fundora: Bad Luck, Good Intentions and Difficult Decisions,” BoxingScene.com, March 31, 2024
Honorable Mention:
Alan Dawson, Boxing News; Thomas Hauser, The Guardian; Diego M. Morilla, RingTV.com; Dan Rafael, danrafael.substack.com; Don Stradley, Donstradley.blogspot.com; Jimmy Tobin, Inbetweenrounds.com; David Weinberg, 973ESPN.com
BOXING COLUMN
First Place
KIERAN MULVANEY, “Prichard Colon, Gerald McClellan, and Boxing’s Duty of Care,” BoxingScene.com, December 15, 2024
Second Place
NORM FRAUENHEIM, “Michael Carbajal Way: A Street Sign for a Hall of Famer,” 15 Rounds, March 22, 2024
Third Place (Tie)
ERIC RASKIN, “Too Much Boxing: Riyadh Season Inadvertently Makes the Case Against ‘Supercards’,” BoxingScene.com, August 6, 2024
DAVID WEINBERG, “A Black Eye for Boxing,” 973ESPN.com, November 22, 2024
Honorable Mention:
Matthew Aguilar, El Paso Times; Tris Dixon, BoxingScene.com; Gayle Lynn Falkenthal, NYFights.com; David Greisman, BoxingScene.com; Dan Rafael, DanRafael.substack.com; Jimmy Tobin, Hannibal Boxing
BOXING NEWS STORY
First Place
THOMAS HAUSER, “Ryan Garcia and the New York State Athletic Commission,” the sweetscience.com, June 23, 2024
Second Place
DON STRADLEY, “Little Giant,” Donstradley.blogspot.com, December 7, 2024
Third Place (Tie)
GREG BISHOP, “Oleksandr Gvozdyk Shows What It Means to Be Ukrainian,” SI.com, June 7, 2024
ELLIOT WORSELL, “Forget Imane Khelif and Focus Your Energy on Jarrell Miller Instead,” BoxingScene.com, August 3, 2024
Honorable Mention:
Manouk Akopyan, Los Angeles Times; Tris Dixon, BoxingScene.com; Norm Frauenheim, 15 Rounds; Dan Rafael, danrafael.substack.com; Joseph Santoliquito, RingTV.com; David Weinberg, 973ESPN.com
BOXING FEATURE (Under 1,500 words)
First Place
CHRIS MANNIX, “Oleksandr Usyk Fights for Much More Than a Heavyweight Title,” Sports Illustrated, December 20, 2024
Second Place (Tie)
JOSE CORPAS, “Tough Tony,” MrBellersneighborhood.com, August 9, 2024
ERIC RASKIN, “The Fight for ‘The Featherweight’: James Madio, Willie Pep, and a Tale of Perfect Timing,” BoxingScene.com, October 10, 2024
DON STRADLEY, “Great Knows Great,” The Ring, December 2024
DAVID WEINBERG, “Atlantic City Trainer Celebrates 50 Years in Boxing,” 973ESPN.com, July 24, 2024
Third Place
ELLIOT WORSELL, “Pure Surreal: Four Months After His Father’s Death, Jake Limond Prepares to Fight Without Him,” BoxingScene.com, August 19, 2024
Honorable Mention:
Stephanie Bradford, Lancaster Online; Tris Dixon, BoxingScene.com; Norm Frauenheim, 15 Rounds; Joseph Santoliquito, RingTV.com
BOXING FEATURE (Over 1,500 words)
First Place
LANCE PUGMIRE, “George Foreman Parts with Car Collection: ‘I Just Closed My Eyes and Let Them All Go’,” Boxing Scene, April 11, 204
Second Place
JOSEPH SANTOLIQUITO, “The Rise and Fall of the HBO Empire,” RingTV.com, January 2024
Third Place
THOMAS GERBASI, “All Gas, No Brakes, Heather Hardy’s Boxing Journey Continues – On the Safe Side of the Ropes,” BoxingScene.com, June 27, 2024
Honorable Mention:
Jack Hirsch, Boxing News Magazine; Chris Mannix, Sports Illustrated; Kieran Mulvaney, BoxingScene.com; Sean Nam, The Baffler; Jamie Rebner, Boxing News Online; Don Stradley, Donstradley.blogspot.com
BOXING INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING
First Place
THOMAS HAUSER, “The Death of Ardi Ndembo,” The Guardian, June 6, 2024
Second Place
SEAN NAM, Vasiliy Lomachenko, Boxer, Soldier, Believer, Traitor?,” SundayLongRead.com, May 3, 2024
Third Place
THOMAS GERBASI, “Divisions,” The Ring Magazine, April/May 2024
Honorable Mention:
Tris Dixon, BoxingScene.com; Abraham Gonzalez, FightsATW.com; Eric Raskin, BoxingScene.com; Don Stradley, Donstradley.blogspot.com; Elliot Worsell, BoxingScene.com
The judges for the 2024 Bernie’s were: Ron Borges, Former Boston Globe and Boston Herald, IBHOF; Tommy Deas, USA Today Sports Network; Jason Langendorf, BoxingScene; Bernard Fernandez, Philadelphia Daily News (retired), former BWAA President, IBHOF; Wallace Matthews, Nat Fleisher Award, former BWAA President, IBHOF; Anthony Carter Paige, WFAN (retired), former BWAA President.
