By Norm Frauenheim-
David Benavidez comes home in three weeks for his first fight in front of Phoenix friends and neighbors in about six-and-half years.
He’s back for a key date against Jose Uzcategui on the Suns home floor on November 13, a teenager no more. He was 18 then. He’s 24 now, still young. Young enough, in fact, to still be making that pivotal passage from prospect to contender.
But Benavidez blew past that step fast enough to be a prodigy. He was a contender and then a champion almost before anybody noticed.
Suddenly, he was a 20-year-old with a world title at super-middleweight, the youngest in the division’s history. He couldn’t buy a beer in his home state, but he was old enough to win a belt. Everything looked possible. Turns out, everything was.
He would go on to lose the title twice, but never within the ropes. He tested positive for cocaine, sat out a suspension and regained the belt.
Then, he failed to make weight, losing the title for a second time. His career is still years from its predicted prime, yet it has already moved along at an astonishing rate, including all of the ups and downs that are often the bookends — the beginning and the end – to other careers.
Now, he fights this time after battling COVID. His homecoming, initially scheduled for Aug. 28, was postponed when he tested positive for the virus.
Benavidez, who will step into the ring next month just 35 days before he turns 25 on Dec. 17, has seen a lot. But not all. That won’t begin to happen, at least probably not until he gets a chance to fight Canelo Alvarez (More on that later.)
But enough has happened to say his wild ride has already included lots to celebrate and lessons to use. With each birthday, those lessons could grow in value.
A test of how much he has learned – how much he’s maturing – will be there against Uzcategui in an eliminator for a mandatory shot at his old title, the World Boxing Council’s version of the 168-pound title.
That makes his imminent Showtime date something of a milestone. Enough time has passed since his last appearance to get a measure of he was and who he’s becoming. A kid then. A man now.
He’s changed. So, has everything else, including. The last time he fought in Phoenix, it was at US Airways Center.
Now, it’s Footprint Center. Then, it was May 15, 2015. David Benavidez was the little brother. He was on the undercard for big brother Jose Benavidez Jr.’s victory for a junior-welterweight title.
This time around, Jose Jr. is on the card, making a comeback from his 12th-round stoppage loss in October 2018 to Terence Crawford.
“Now, roles are reversed,’’ David Benavidez said in a Zoom session with reporters earlier this week. “Still, I have my brother with me.’’
The brothers, both trained by their dad Jose, have been inseparable since they first started appearing on cards in and around Phoenix. Eventually they moved on, first to Los Angeles and then Seattle.
They’ve sparred. They’ve trashed talked, opponent and probably each other. There are no siblings without some kind of rivalry. In terms of their boxing records, however, they may one day have a unique connection.
Jose Benavidez Jr. lost to Crawford at a point when Crawford was beginning to lead the pound-for-pound polls. Their fight is among Crawford’s toughest bouts. During a recent session with reporters for his Nov. 20 bout with Shawn Porter, Crawford said it wasn’t his toughest. Instead, Crawford mentioned his ninth-round TKO of Egidijus Kavaliauskas in 2018.
Nevertheless, Benavidez was resilient throughout, still there midway through the final round in front of a roaring crowd in Omaha, Crawford’s hometown. It was memorable enough for Porter to include it as a fight film he says he will study throughout his training for Crawford.
Then, Jose Benavidez challenged a leading pound-for-pound contender. Now, brother David wants his pound-for-pound chance against Canelo, who first has to beat Caleb Plant the Saturday (11-6) before his date with Uzcategui.
Over the last 18 months, Canelo has overtaken Crawford in the pound-for-pound debate. Canelo is the consensus No. 1. David Benavidez wants to knock him off that perch. The calendar suggests he’ll get a chance to that.
Showtime’s scheduling doesn’t look to be a coincidence. Canelo-Plant the first Satuday in November Benavidez- Uzcategui on the second is sure to fuel speculation, especially if both Canelo and Benavidez win. Both are favored. The winners, Canelo a Mexican and Benavidez a Mexican-American, would be a perfect fit for the Cinco de Mayo date next year.
“I feel like the winner of this fight deserves the Canelo-Plant winner,’’ Benavidez said. “We’ve definitely put the work in throughout our careers to earn it. I think Canelo has the experience and power that’s going to help him get the victory on November 6 over Plant.’’
Unlike times earlier in his career, Benavidez is cautious. He seems determined not to get ahead of himself with words that would say he is looking past Uzcatequi’s power. He also knows that Canelo might have other ideas in his ambitious plans to make history. If he beats Plant, he’ll have all of the significant super-middleweight titles. That might signal a permanent move up to light-heavyweight.
“I don’t know, I don’t know,’’ David Benavidez said. “I don’t know why he’d (Canelo) go in a different direction. But, sometimes, things happen.’’
Wise words from a fighter who has seen things happen often enough to make him wise beyond his years. Attachments area
