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.
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Rising junior welterweight Tiger Johnson, who starred for Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics, intends on capping his 2022 campaign with a standout performance at The World’s Most Famous Arena.
Johnson steps up in his first scheduled eight-rounder against Mike O’Han Jr. on Saturday, Dec. 10, at Madison Square Garden. Johnson-O’Han joins a loaded fight card headlined by the junior welterweight main event between former lightweight king Teofimo Lopez and former two-weight world champion Jose “Sniper” Pedraza.
Johnson (6-0, 4 KOs), from Cleveland, Ohio, has established himself as one of the sport's top prospects since turning pro last November. A quarterfinalist in Tokyo, Johnson is 5-0 in 2022, a year that began with a four-round decision over Xavier Madrid in January. In August, he became the first fighter to stop Massachusetts native Harry Gigliotti. Johnson returned on the Vasiliy Lomachenko-Jamaine Ortiz card last month and shut out Esteban Garcia over six rounds. He moves up to the eight-round plateau against O’Han (16-1, 9 KOs), a native of Holbrook, Massachusetts, who has won seven straight bouts.
Johnson said, “Madison Square Garden is the biggest stage in boxing, and I plan on making a huge statement against a tough opponent in Mike O’Han. I am ready to put the 140-pound weight class on notice. I’m going to close out 2022 strong and start climbing the rankings in 2023."
Lopez-Pedraza tops a televised quadruple-header airing immediately after the Heisman Trophy Ceremony at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+. Heavyweight sensation Jared “The Real Big Baby” Anderson aims for his 13th straight knockout against the battle-tested Jerry “Slugger” Forrest, Puerto Rican junior middleweight star Xander Zayas steps up in class against 28-fight veteran Alexis Salazar, and 2020 Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn Davis looks to jumpstart his world title ambitions in a lightweight duel versus Juan Carlos Burgos.
Johnson-O’Han and additional undercard bouts will stream live and exclusively on ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT. In other undercard action, “Irish” Joe Ward (7-1, 4 KOs) will battle Frederic Julan (12-1, 10 KOs) in a six-round light heavyweight tilt, undefeated Polish heavyweight Damian Knyba (8-0, 5 KOs) steps up against Emilio Salas (7-3-1, 3 KOs) in a six-rounder, Brooklyn-born featherweight sensation Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (5-0, 3 KOs) takes on Juan Tapia (12-4, 4 KOs) in an eight-rounder, and Long Island-born welterweight Jahi Tucker (9-0, 5 KOs) aims for win number 10 against Ivan Pandzic (14-2-1, 8 KOs) in an eight-rounder.
