By Keith Idec

NEW YORK – Leonard Ellerbe expects Ronald Gavril to finish the job this time.

Ellerbe, CEO for Mayweather Promotions, believes Gavril learned everything he needs to know about David Benavidez during their first time and will benefit from those lessons in their rematch February 17. Ellerbe envisions Gavril, who’s promoted by Mayweather’s company, knocking out the unbeaten Benavidez a week from Saturday night at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

Benavidez defeated Gavril by split decision in their 12-rounder September 8 to win the then-unclaimed WBC super middleweight title. Gavril (18-2, 14 KOs) dropped Benavidez (19-0, 17 KOs) with 55 seconds left in the 12th round, but Benavidez survived that trouble to edge Gavril.

“He’s going into the fight prepared, he knows what [Benavidez] is bringing to the table,” Ellerbe told BoxingScene.com. “He’ll be able to step up his game and he’s gonna take that WBC strap. And I think that fight’s gonna end in a knockout. He already dropped him. He already proved he can put him on the canvas. That fight is gonna end in a knockout, and Ronald Gavril is gonna take that WBC strap and bring it back to Las Vegas. And it’ll be a big win for the whole country of Romania.”

The gritty Gavril gave Benavidez, 21, everything the precocious knockout artist could handle during their first fight. The Romanian-born, Las Vegas-based Gavril, 31, still lost on two of the three scorecards (117-111, 116-111, 111-116).

“He needs to get started earlier,” Ellerbe said. “I think that they went into a feeling-out process the first time. [Trainer] Eddie [Mustafa Muhammad] has made some adjustments with the game plan. He has some tremendous sparring and I think the preparation has been that much better going in. I’m very confident. He’s going in, obviously, as the underdog again. That’s the best thing that could ever happen, because everyone is expecting him to lose. And he has everything to gain.”

Showtime will televise the Benavidez-Gavril rematch as part of a tripleheader. It’ll feature welterweights Danny Garcia (33-1, 19 KOs) and Brandon Rios (34-3-1, 25 KOs) in the 12-round main event.

“They put on a phenomenal fight and I thought that it was a ‘Fight of the Year,’ ” Ellerbe said. “[Gavril] proved that not only does he belong, but that he’s one of the top guys in the division. Both guys know what each other’s bringing to the table and that’s what’s exciting about when you get rematches. Benavidez has been in there and he knows what Ronald’s bringing. And Ronald knows what he’s bringing. I think both guys will be in the best shape of their life and the fans are gonna be the winners.”

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