David Benavidez has grown up before our eyes in the boxing ring. It’s easy to forget that Benavidez is just 24 years of age, considering he’s been a factor at the highest levels of the 168-pound division for several years now. Like the man he’s chasing, Canelo Alvarez, he turned pro when he was still in high school after a brief amateur career that initially started because he wanted to lose weight.
Like anyone, he’s made mistakes as he’s grown up. He’s been suspended for cocaine use, he’s lost a title on the scale, he’s contracted COVID-19 and was allegedly unvaccinated when it happened. He’s twice lost a title without fighting. As Benavidez’s father Jose Sr. told Sports Illustrated’s Greg Bishop in 2020, “something goes well for the fighting Benavidez brothers. And then, boom. Something happens.”
Sports are forgiving when it comes to misdeeds. As long as you can win, or help someone win, you’ll generally find yourself employed somewhere. Boxing is particularly forgiving. In a recent New Yorker profile written by Kelefa Sanneh, influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul put it plainly: "One thing that is great about being a fighter is, like, you can’t get cancelled."
While history has proven that there is basically nothing one can do that would make them unwelcome in a ring somewhere, boxing also doesn’t provide any guarantees about the quality of the opportunities you might receive. One will almost always be able to find a fight somewhere, but the sport’s power players, the networks that can offer you life-changing money-making fights, they can certainly freeze you out.
For a fighter of lesser talent, a stain of unreliability might be enough to get you moved to the bottom of the pile. But David Benavidez’s talent is undeniable. And perhaps even more importantly, he is objectively thrilling to watch.
On Saturday night, Benavidez put on another exciting performance in stopping Kyrone Davis in the seventh round of the main event of a Showtime-televised card in his hometown of Phoenix, AZ. This time, the out of the ring drama came from his previously arranged opponent, as Jose Uzcategui tested positive for EPO. In Davis, organizers found a potentially more intriguing opponent, and one brave and tough enough to stand up to—but ultimately be overwhelmed by—Benavidez’s constant pressure and combination punching.
After a pensive start over the first two rounds, Benavidez kicked it into the only gear he knows how to operate in, hammering Davis with multi-punch combinations and hard body shots. Benavidez is a particularly gifted combination puncher, a preternatural ability he reportedly had even when he was a hefty teenager sparring the likes of Gennady Golovkin and Kelly Pavlik. That the combinations are thrown by a towering 168-pounder makes the vision of Benavidez in the ring quite jarring.
But the glue that binds him and makes his work so effective is a well-timed, quick jab. In a general sense, Benavidez is a stalking pressure fighter who tucks behind a high guard and walks his opponents down. Most fighters of his ilk mainly use a jab as a means of getting to the inside, or simply offer it because they need to do so just often enough to keep their opponents honest. In Benavidez’s case, he throws it on his way in, on his way out, and sometimes, in the middle of lengthy combos. That tool in particular sets him apart from other pressure fighters in that he is not entirely predictable.
“The thing about me is that I have so much conditioning that I’m going to keep going until he eventually stops. That’s what eventually happens. They tend to give up. I know that I don’t have that one-punch knockout power but I’m going to be ready to get you every single round,” said Benavidez following the bout. “You can improve in every area. I’m looking to improve in every area. I’m 24 years old so I’m going to continue working. I can get better. I’m going to keep working until I become the best.”
After assessing his performance, conversation quickly turned to the topic du jour in boxing: Who will be next to fight Canelo Alvarez, and will it be Benavidez? Late last week, sportsbook MyBookie listed Benavidez as the odds-on favorite (+125) to be the next to face Canelo, trailed by Golovkin and Jermall Charlo.
“Everybody wants to see me against Canelo, right? I don’t care what his assessment of my fight is but they keep putting these contenders in front of me. My last fight was a WBC Title Eliminator and that’s why I’m here holding my belts. They need to give me the opportunity. I’ll go through anybody. Whoever they want me to go through. If (Jermall) Charlo wants it, he can get it too. But he doesn’t want to get in the ring with me,” said Benavidez.
To those more familiar with him, Benavidez can probably be labeled the prospective opponent most likely to provide unadulterated action against Canelo. Canelo has specifically mentioned the possibility of facing Benavidez in recent weeks. When it comes to landing a fight with the biggest name and best fighter in boxing, a few things are helpful. Generally, holding some kind of trinket supersedes everything, but since Canelo already holds all of the gold at 168, that doesn’t factor in here. In this case, having an impressive resume and a recognizable name is most important, both of which Benavidez has, in relation to the other candidates. A good-looking CV will get you a fight, but to sell a fight, your demo reel matters most, which is where Benavidez excels.
The term “casual” is thrown around as a pejorative on boxing Twitter and message boards, usually to describe someone holding a loosely-formed opinion. However, really, truly casual fans are the ones that transform pay-per-view events with the median number of viewers into blockbuster successes. A large number of those fans are familiar with the A-side and are learning about the opponent for the first time. Any dedicated boxing fan has fielded inquiries from friends the week of the event to the effect of “I don’t know anything about (the B-side fighter), do they have a chance?” In order to learn about them, a typical person won’t go back and watch a fighter’s entire catalogue, they’ll watch the shoulder programming put together by the network at most, and a couple of the highlight packs used within at least.
When it comes to the eye test for the casual fan, a highlight pack consisting of Benavidez’s work against Kyrone Davis, his absurd KO of Porky Medina and more will jump off the screen.
They won’t know anything about any of his prior mistakes, let alone have to forgive him. All that matters is that he can fight.
Corey Erdman is a boxing writer and commentator based in Toronto, ON, Canada. Follow him on Twitter @corey_erdman
