Just like coaches Dave Roberts, Bill Belichick and Phil Jackson before him, Jose Benavidez Snr doesn’t need to focus so much on the opponent when he knows how gifted the man leading his team is.
Yes, England’s Anthony Yarde, 34, is a formative three-time light-heavyweight challenger capable of inflicting sudden pain with 24 knockouts posted in his 30 professional bouts.
But with David Benavidez, 30-0 (24 KOs), elevating toward his peak, entering Saturday’s Riyadh Season main event in Saudi Arabia as an -1100 betting favorite over Yarde, trainer/father Benavidez carries maximum confidence regarding how his son’s first WBC light-heavyweight title defense will play out.
With a five-week training session in Miami topped by a two-week regimen in Dubai, David Benavidez, 28, is described as “super good, super motivated, super happy,” by his father.
“His reflexes are so good, his IQ has become impeccable and his power, speed and balance when he throws those punches is right on point,” Jose Benavidez Snr told BoxingScene from Saudi Arabia. “Footwork, head movement, defense… we’ve covered everything to stay sharp.
“A lot of people in this sport will say, ‘This is the best camp we’ve ever had.’ I say it and mean it because he’s so connected with the universe, God, the vibrations, his family.”
Father and son hit a rough patch before David’s February victory over David Morrell to retain his interim light-heavyweight belt, the main strap becoming his alone when undisputed 175lbs champion Dmitry Bivol opted to take a trilogy fight with former champion Artur Beterbiev rather than defend his WBC belt versus Benavidez.
Bivol is now recovering from back surgery and his three-belt unification with Beterbiev is expected to happen in 2026.
“Now I feel the love, the need, the happiness,” Benavidez Snr said. “Even though I believe this is the toughest fight of David’s career, fighting a guy who gave tough moments to [Sergey] Kovalev and Beterbiev – a tough fighter who’s super strong, got a full camp this time and faces his last opportunity to fight for a world title – that motivates us knowing a very dangerous, super exciting fight is coming our way.
“We can’t wait.”
The enthusiasm is especially rich, Benavidez Snr said, because they sense the opening to expand their value in the sport following the September loss of the sport’s most popular fighter, Mexico’s Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, a void furthered by Alvarez’s post-fight surgery that vacates the traditional Cinco de Mayo weekend main event for others, which unbeaten junior-middleweight Vergil Ortiz Jnr and Mexico’s Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz also clamor for.
“I believe Canelo is done. We saw it,” Benavidez Snr said. “He’s done so much for the sport. He was a guy who got to places where it will be so hard for any other fighter to get to … my respect to him and his team. But his body is very tired, so much wear and tear.
“I believe David can be the next big superstar in the sport and the face of boxing because of his style and what he’s been proving. We’ve just got to keep moving ourselves.”
Former super-middleweight champion Benavidez was avoided as mandatory 168lbs contender for more than two years by Alvarez, who decried concerns over Benavidez’s ability to rehydrate far beyond what Alvarez could accomplish before fight night.
Alvarez, 35, instead chose the lighter Terence Crawford as his September foe and was outboxed by unanimous decision at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium, surrendering his undisputed champion’s status, and thrilling those wanting to succeed him as the sport’s top draw.
On Saturday, “we have to look as spectacular as possible to get to the bigger fights, the Bivol-Beterbiev [winner and cruiserweight champions Gilberto] ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez and Jai Opetaia,” Benavidez Snr said. “Those are the monsters around us.”
Benavidez Snr told BoxingScene there have been initial discussions about staging a Benavidez-Ramirez unified cruiserweight title fight on Cinco de Mayo should both men prevail uninjured in their coming fights.
Ramirez said after defeating Yuniel Dorticos in June that the next big fight he wanted was not a social-media event with ranked cruiserweight Jake Paul, but rather Benavidez.
Ramirez promoter Oscar De La Hoya told BoxingScene he’s planning an early first-quarter bout for Mexico’s WBO/WBA champion Ramirez, 48-1 (30 KOs), and is intent on bringing high-profile bouts to Las Vegas in 2026.
“There’s a lot of talk about fighting in Las Vegas on Cinco de Mayo against ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez, but right now we’re focused on the tough fight of Anthony Yarde. We cannot underestimate him,” Benavidez Snr said. “There are a lot of big fights out there, and those around [light-heavyweight and above] are the ticket for David to prove himself and be the face of boxing.”
Benavidez Snr said he actually believed two-division champion Ramirez would be his son’s next opponent because of the negotiations with Ramirez’s promoter and manager that preceded the turn toward Yarde.
“They’re ready to go … ‘Zurdo’ will take a tune-up. And now it’s all about how we look,” Benavidez Snr said. “At the end of the day, I believe that fight is going to happen. That fight is ready.
“David and ‘Zurdo’ for Cinco de Mayo would be a great fight for the people, would bring a lot of pay-per-views, and excitement to the whole world.”
That leaves Yarde to rise up as an obstacle, something that Benavidez’s father has bold thoughts on, considering his intimate knowledge of a champion yearning to become boxing’s version of Shohei Ohtani, Tom Brady or Michael Jordan.
“There’s levels to boxing, man,” he said. ”David’s at a different level. His IQ and attitude are different. All my respect to Anthony Yarde, but there is no way Anthony Yarde is beating David Benavidez. It’s going to be a tough, exciting fight. There’s going to blood, broken ribs, broken noses, but David is coming out victorious and there’s no room in my mind to even consider losing.
“David gives me the confidence to say that and back up everything I’m saying. He’s never been so ready. He gives off the confidence of a warrior, and don’t be surprised if you guys see a knockout.”
