GLENDALE, Arizona – Jose Valenzuela is happy to be along for the ride this weekend.
The unbeaten rising lightweight contender plays the role of spectator as stablemate David Benavidez headlines his second straight card in the greater Phoenix area. The bout takes place this Saturday on Showtime from Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona. The fight comes barely a month after Valenzuela enjoyed a first-round knockout of former junior lightweight titlist Francisco Vargas this past April 16 as part of a Showtime Pay-Per-View event from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Benavidez officially weighed 166.4 pounds, well under the super middleweight limit and his lightest weight in more than five years. His physique is the finished product of more than four months in training camp, in part due to multiple changing fight dates but also as the elder statesmen—at all of 25 years of age—in a gym that includes the 22-year-old Valenzuela and 21-year-old super middleweight prospect Diego Pacheco (14-0, 11KOs) all serving under the guidance of Jose Benavidez Sr., David’s father.
“We’re all here to lift each other up,” Valenzuela told BoxingScene.com while also greeting his adoring fans also on hand to cheer on Benavidez this weekend. “It goes both ways. There are some days when I’m not feeling it. There are some days when [Benavidez is] not feeling it. So when that happens, we just find ways to motivate each other.
“We have something great going on and I’m excited for his fight. We’re fully focused. You saw my performance. You saw Diego’s performance. Here, you saw David show up almost two pounds under. You know we’re focused and he’s going to show it on Saturday.”
The unbeaten trio is off to an explosive start in 2022. Pacheco was the latest to join the team, looking at his best to date in a second-round stoppage of the normally durable Genc Pllana this past March 5 in San Diego. Valenzuela followed suit with his 85-second destruction of Vargas, which came four months after his one-sided fourth-round knockout of Austin Dulay in a breakout performance last December in Minneapolis.
The expectation is for Benavidez (25-0, 22KOs) to follow suit, with the Phoenix native intent on becoming a three-time super middleweight titlist. The promise throughout the fight promotion was to send Lemieux home to Montreal with a knockout loss, a viewpoint shared by his team and not just for the sake of toeing the line.
“It’s going to be a knockout for sure,” insists Valenzuela, who is eyeing a summertime return for his own next fight. “David Lemieux is a great fighter. I expect a knockout in the late rounds but the way (Benavidez) has looked, I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets it done early. Either way, he’ll get it done. It’s not going twelve.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
