David Benavidez turned 28 immediately, December seventeenth, as he prepares to battle WBA common mild heavyweight champion David Morrell on February 1st in Las Vegas. The ‘Mexican Monster’ Benavidez gained the WBC interim mild heavyweight title in his final battle in a lackluster efficiency in opposition to Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June fifteenth.
Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) needed to battle exhausting to win a 12-round unanimous resolution in opposition to Gvozdyk. In an interview, Benavidez says he went into the battle with each palms injured and a current minimize. He feels these accidents prevented him from being 100%. That is what I used to be afraid of. Benavidez is beginning to break down from a protracted, lengthy profession within the sport.
Benavidez’s Harm Issues
He’s 28, however he would possibly as effectively be 38. Benavidez has been knowledgeable for so long as undisputed mild heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev, and he’s additionally struggling repeated accidents. Being within the sport for 10+ years does it to a fighter. It’s very troublesome to proceed combating on the high degree as soon as a man has been within the sport that lengthy.
The accidents Benavidez is starting to maintain could possibly be an indication that his physique is breaking down from a protracted profession. Though he’s nonetheless younger at 28, he’s been within the sport for 11 years. Many fighters are bodily shot by the point they’re of their tenth yr within the professional sport. It has nothing to do with chronological age.
The bodily breakdown is from put on & tear, and Benavidez may present early indicators. First, the palms go, adopted by reflexes and punch resistance. He hasn’t fought any punchers throughout his profession aside from 37-year-old Gvozdyk, who was lighting him up of their conflict on the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Benavidez acquired by that battle with out getting knocked out, however he acquired some terrible punishment from Gvozdyk.
David could possibly be kidding himself as a result of he was by no means a puncher, even at 168. His knockouts got here from his quantity punching in opposition to older, lesser fighters., and he’s by no means proven any trace of energy throughout his 11-year profession.
Benavidez regarded the identical as at all times, power-wise, and the one distinction was that his photographs had no impact at 175, as that they had in opposition to the smaller veterans he’d been combating at 168. He was large for that division and was matched in opposition to largely older figures in recent times by his promoters. Transferring as much as 175, Benavidez’s energy wasn’t the identical and clearly had nothing to do with each of his palms being injured.
Indicators of Decline
“I had quite a lot of accidents going into this battle. Seven weeks going into the battle, I tore a ligament or a tendon [in right hand]. It was a fairly extreme harm,” mentioned David Benavidez to Tobin, speaking about why he fought so poorly in his debut at 175 in opposition to Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June fifteenth in Las Vegas.
“They mentioned I wanted seven weeks to get better from that. ‘Nicely, I don’t acquired that. I’m going to go forward and use my left hand, and hopefully, by the point the battle [Gvozdyk] will get there, this one [right hand] goes to be recovered. So, I’m throwing jabs and there’s 5 weeks earlier than the battle, and I hit the man [sparring partner] on high of the pinnacle.
“I really fractured that and couldn’t use that [left hand] both. That harm lots,” mentioned Benavidez, declaring that each of his palms have been injured whereas he was going into his battle in opposition to 37-year-old former WBC mild heavyweight champion Gvozdyk. “So, I’m like, ‘I’m not going to cancel the battle anyhow. So, I’m simply going to offer it a while to heal up.’”
The Gvozdyk battle was going to be a life & loss of life one for Benavidez no matter his accidents, as this man was ranges above the blokes that he’d been feasting on at 168. Who did Benavidez beat at 168 that you could name a very good fighter? These three are the most effective that Benavidez fought throughout his profession as an excellent middleweight: Caleb Plant, Demetrius Andrade, and Anthony Dirrell. We’re not speaking about A-level guys. These are B-level fighters, and two of them have been very outdated.
“Two weeks later, I’m sparring in there once more, and within the twelfth spherical, I get minimize on my [left] eye,” Benaviez continued about his harm downside. “I get 13 stitches. I used to be torn up. I didn’t know what to do. I’ve this harm [left hand] and this harm [right hand], and I’ve a minimize. As a result of the followers imply a lot to me, and it is a massive deal to the folks of boxing and the folks of PBC.
“I’m like, ‘You understand what? I’m simply going to go in there and pray that my palms are wholesome. My stamina is there. I’m simply going to go on with the battle.’ I child you not. I’m within the dressing room, and I’m hitting the mitts. I really feel my [left] hand swelling up. I really feel this [right hand] harm. I’m already form of nervous.”
Morrell Will Capitalize
As I mentioned, Benavidez’s physique is breaking down from a protracted profession within the sport, and he probably doesn’t have a lot time left. It’s possible that he’ll undergo accidents throughout his coaching camp for the Morrell battle. If he doesn’t postpone the battle, he’ll go into the competition in opposition to the Cuban Morrell with accidents to 1 or each palms. That’s not the kind of man that Benavidez can afford to be combating with accidents as a result of he’ll get chopped aside by this expertise.
“I went in there, and I did a terrific job. I gained eight or 9 rounds in opposition to a veteran [Gvozdyk]. He was a silver medal within the Olympics, and he was a unified champion at mild heavyweight [correction: Gvozdyk is a former WBC 175-lb champion, NOT a unified former champ],” mentioned Benavidez.
Opposite to what Benafvidez says, he did NOT do a “nice job” in his battle in opposition to Gvozdyk. That match regarded 100% prefer it ought to have been scored a 12-round draw. Whereas the judges did Benavidez a favor by giving him the win, he can’t rely on being gifted a call in opposition to Morrell as a result of he’ll take away the judges from the equation along with his energy punching.
