By Norm Frauenheim –
LAS VEGAS – David Benavidez sounds as if he is ready to be more than just another fighter chasing Canelo Alvarez.
Benavidez introduced bold aspirations, saying he wants to be a force all his own instead of just another name in the Canelo lottery, Wednesday at a public workout for his super-middleweight date Saturday with Demetrius Andrade.
“I think this is the start of the Benavidez era,’’ he said to a crowd of onlookers on the casino floor at Mandalay Bay, not far from the Michelob ULTRA Arena where he defended the first of two titles in a
victory over Ronald Gavril as a 20-year-old in 2018.
He was a kid, then. Nearly six years later, he’s a feared fighter, still young, yet just entering his prime and on a path that he believes will put him where Canelo has been.
He talked about a chance at making some history, which was Canelo’s mantra until he ran into Dmitry Bivol, a light-heavyweight who upset him and his ambitions in May 2022.
It’s not as if Canelo isn’t still on Benavidez’ horizon. The undisputed super-middleweight champion is there, dangerous as ever, as the next possibility for Benavidez, who will turn 27 on Dec. 17.
The World Boxing Council decided a couple of weeks ago at a convention in Uzbekistan that the Benavidez-Andrade winner will be Canelo’s mandatory challenger. These days, that could mean just about anything. Canelo’s celebrity and earning power equal clout. He calls his own shots. There’s talk of him fighting welterweight champion and pound-for-pound king Terence Crawford.
There’s also uncertainty about the boxing business. The Benavidez-Andrade fight is Showtime’s last pay-per-view card. There’s still no news about a new broadcast network.
Canelo, the pay-per-view star of his generation, doesn’t come cheap. His purses have doubled and tripled since he collected $12 million for his loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr.
But it’s clear that Benavidez is anxious to get out from under Canelo’s dominance. For years, he called out Canelo. For years, Canelo told him — in so many words — to get in line.
“I’m so sick of talking about Canelo,’’ said Benavidez’ father and trainer Jose Benavidez, whose older son, Jose Jr., fights middleweight champion Jermall Charlo in a contentious co-main event. ”He’s been fighting little guys.’’
Canelo scored a dominant decision over Charlo’s twin brother, junior-middleweight Jermell Charlo, in his last outing, a bout that looked a lot like a tune-up.
Since beating the smaller Charlo, there’s not been much comment from Canelo about Benavidez or his chances at being the mandatory challenger. Late Wednesday, he was nearly a 4-1 favorite over Andrade, a former middleweight and junior-middleweight champion.
But Benavidez doesn’t seem to care what Canelo thinks anymore.
“To be honest, I’m not worried about Canelo,’’ said the Phoenix-born fighter, now a Seattle resident who continues to wear the PHX acronym on his trunks. “I want to clean out the division.
“I promise you I will not disappoint you. This will be the best fight – to date – of my career.
That starts, he said, with Andrade, a former Olympian with a comprehensive skillset. The 35-year-old Andrade knows his way around the ring.
He can challenge Benavidez with versatility and agile footwork, both of which figure to be an intriguing test of Benavidez’ patience, maturity and emerging ambition.
Benavidez seeking KO
Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) is confident he can stop the unbeaten Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs).
His promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz is sure of it.
“I promise you David will knock out Andrade,’’ Lewkowicz told the workout crowd.
A reason might the size of the ring. It’s the traditional 20-by-20, smaller than the 22-by-22-foot ring for Benavidez’ unanimous decision over Caleb Plant last March.
Plant, who has some of Andrade’s boxing skill, was able to use the bigger ring — the result of a contract demand — to elude some of Benavidez’ punishing pursuit, especially in the final rounds.
