Dante Benjamin is aiming to be a contender, but he is approaching each fight as though he is the underdog.
Benjamin is set to return in a six-round light heavyweight contest against Victor Hugo Exner on Saturday at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio.
Benjamin, 11-0-1 (8 KOs), signed with Top Rank in 2022 and emerged as an exciting knockout artist. In July of the following year, he had a draw with William Langston and parted ways with his former promoter.
“I am an underdog,” Benjamin told BoxingScene. “I might not be the most popular at my weight class, but I am one of the best prospects in my weight class. I think a lot of people forgot about me since I am not with Top Rank anymore.”
Benjamin returned to the ring on a regional show in November 2023, followed by a July 2024 appearance. Since he departed from Top Rank, he has fought only four times in a year and a half. This will be his fifth fight. Benjamin, a Cleveland native, will be fighting in Ohio again. The last time he fought in Huntington Center, he delivered a first-round knockout over Mirady Lubanzadio Zola in July 2023. His motivations currently are simple.
“My motivations are my coach and my family,” Benjamin said. “It isn’t about proving people wrong, it is about proving that the people who are with me are right."
Renard Safo has trained Benjamin since he was 7 years old. Safo trained the likes of Terrell Gausha, Willie Nelson, Prenice Brewer and Delante “Tiger” Johnson to great amateur careers. Benjamin is now 23 and hoping to use his humility as a weapon. Against Exner, 11-19-3 (5 KOs), he is clearly the favorite, but despite that, he isn’t arrogant in his approach.
“You can’t go in there with a big head,” Benjamin said. “You still have to have the mindset that got you there in the first place.”
Even the draw with Langston is a learning lesson that feeds into what seems to be his broader mindset: Don’t settle. There’s more work to do.
“It is about finishing stronger and working harder throughout all the rounds,” Benjamin said. “I can’t think that I got the fight won.”
Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.
