Essential The Official Boxing Random Thoughts Thread...All boxing heads ENTER.
- Thread starter Jesus Is Lord
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Conscious Pilot
Do Better.
Watching BCuster's interview with the Charlos and he asked them about being on drugs and/or PEDs. Breadman must have submitted a question lol.
Didn’t know he had a platform. Always fukked with Custer, imma start listening to his shyt.
malbaker86
Gators
@ChocolateGiddyUp
"Benavidez Details Plans: Caleb Plant before 'megafight' with Canelo"
"Benavidez Details Plans: Caleb Plant before 'megafight' with Canelo"
David Benavidez has never met Canelo Alvarez, but the 23-year-old is shrewd enough about the business of boxing to understand he and his fellow super-middleweight champion are speaking to each other in code.
Phoenix’s Benavidez (22-0, 19 KOs) makes the first defense of his WBC 168-pound belt Saturday night when he headlines a Showtime card against Roamer Alexis Angulo (26-1, 22 KOs) at Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut.
After stopping former champion Anthony Dirrell in the ninth round to claim the belt in September, Benavidez — The Athletic’s No. 2 most intriguing fighter 25 years old or younger — has elevated from prospect to titleholder.
He said his aim in the Angulo fight is to continue building his momentum toward a unification showdown with fellow Premier Boxing Champions super-middleweight champion Caleb Plant. Once victorious, he’ll move closer to Alvarez, Mexico’s four-division champion and current pound-for-pound king.
In a conversation with The Athletic this week, Benavidez discussed his fight this weekend and his pursuit of bouts far greater.
I actually feel that the best fight that could be made at 168 at this moment would be you versus Canelo. Whether it arrives next year or the year after that, it seems it’ll have to happen at some point. Do you keep Canelo in the back of your mind as you’re training and taking on guys like Angulo?
You always train for the best because anything can happen in there. What was really weird is that every other champion in the division (Plant, Callum Smith and Billy Joe Saunders) got an offer from (Alvarez), except for me. I find that very weird that their people never even talked to me and never extended anything.
No disrespect – I think he’s an amazing fighter – but I’ve made it very clear I’d love the opportunity to fight him. I don’t know what the situation is with him, but my job is to stay ready when that opportunity comes. And I can tell you, I’ll be ready whenever he and his team decides the timing is right to fight me.
Do you think he thinks you’re too young or too good?
I don’t think it’s either. If he thought I was too young, he would’ve fought me already. And I don’t think he thinks I’m too good. No fighter thinks anyone else is too good to fight them, especially him. I think the reason is that he sees there’s potential there for it to be a very big fight. He’s thinking as a businessman that he wants to make the most money he can and the way that will happen is when we get back to having crowds. And then, especially if I go and beat Caleb Plant and take his belt, it’ll be very big. I’ll be here. I’ll be ready and prepared.
Could David Benavidez be matched up with pound-for-pound king Canelo Alvarez in the next year? (Steve Marcus/Getty Images)
So there’s basically an unspoken communication going on between the two of you, with him saying, ‘Keep winning these fights to make it as big as possible,’ and you telling him, ‘I’m going to do that.’
Definitely. In my mind, that’s the only thing that makes sense to me. I’ve already made it clear now that the money’s not a problem. I would take less than all these other guys now, with (Saunders) saying he won’t take less than $5 million. I’d take $4 million. Money’s not the problem. All I want is the opportunity and I’ve made that very clear since the beginning.
So it must be that at the end of the day he’s thinking how big this fight can be beyond a year from now if I continue to do my job and beat Caleb Plant … if all these belts are on the line, then he’s going to have to take the fight and who’s not going to want to see that? That smells like a mega-fight right there. That’s my plan: I’m just going to beat these guys and make it very hard on him to turn down a fight with me.
You had a mandatory challenge coming from Avni Yildirim before Angulo replaced him, and then that signed homecoming date in Phoenix against Angulo was scrapped by COVID-19. What about this matchup is in your favor?
It’ll be a good fight because he’s a good fighter coming off a win against (previously unbeaten) Anthony Sims Jr. and I honestly feel he’s a more dangerous opponent than Yildirim was going to be for me. This guy’s a heavy hitter with a lot of knockouts — just like me — so it has the makings for a great fight.
I have to remain patient. I haven’t overlooked this guy. I know what he’s capable of. But when I strike, I’m going to strike with full force. I’m going in there like I do in all my fights: looking for a knockout. I will win, and win convincingly.
Is it becoming more of a delicate balance at this point for you, in that you’d like to finish the guy by knockout to uphold your reputation, but you can’t let your guard down, recognizing these opponents are increasing in quality and have the ability to knock you down? What have you learned about walking that high wire?
From all the experience I have, I understand these guys are experienced and have power, too. These are the types of things I need to do to set myself apart. If I’m not knocking them out, I have to hurt him at least a couple times, just to show everyone I’m the best.
I’ve learned to pace myself throughout the years. I’ve been a pro for almost eight years. I’ve been in some 12-round fights. I’ve grown accustomed to being here now, when to push on the gas and when to conserve some energy. I feel better than ever now. Plus, these guys need to be worried about what I can do to them. I’m a big puncher. I’m a good thinker. I have good defense. And I can box inside and outside.
How bummed were you to see this fight move out of Phoenix?
With what’s happening right now, this was the best move. If anything happened (amid the pandemic), I wouldn’t feel right if I kept my fight in Phoenix and people got infected. Arizona’s a hotspot. I’m 23 years old and there’ll be plenty of time for me to get back to Phoenix. I want to tell everyone there to relax and stay safe. Right now, my job is to give the people a great fight they can watch at home while barbecuing with their families.
Did the layoff make you better or worse because of all the training camp interruptions?
It was pretty much the same. Training is never easy. When the fight got canceled, I took off three weeks. Then it was tricky to get the sparring going, with all the testing. We tested three guys. I still had a great camp. I’d do 15 rounds of sparring three days a week for at least five weeks. I’m extremely ready. Like I said, I’m not overlooking Angulo at all. He’s a tough competitor, but I want to show everyone why I’m the champion.
You’ve shown in this interview you are a solid talker, but as you’ve reached this level as world champion, do you feel pressure to be boisterous and say sensational, attention-seeking things to ensure you land the fights you want?
That’s never been my style. I say what I think and feel. I feel people respect that. I’m not obnoxious. There’s going to be times I’m going to have to speak up to get more attention, but as of now, I’m just being cool with stuff. Probably by the time I get to Caleb Plant, you’re going to see another side of me. I don’t like that guy, so I’ll definitely have a lot to say about him.
At this point, the dude (Angulo) has been respectful and we’re professionals, so if he acts like a gentleman, I’ll act like a gentleman. We don’t need to act like savages and badmouth each other. I don’t react out of character, but I will react to what my opponent says. And if I talk bad about an opponent, that’s really how I feel about you.
Caleb Plant defeated Vincent Feigenbutz by 10th-round TKO last February. (Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
Should we expect you to fight Plant by next year?
Hopefully. It would’ve taken place by December if COVID-19 hadn’t happened. I had these two fights lined up, one in April, and the second by now. If I have to fight Caleb Plant without an audience, it’ll be unfortunate, but I’ll still fight him because that’s a fight a lot of fans want to go to and watch live.
Have you already started playing that fight out in your mind?
Definitely. I’m going to have to bring the best out of me. I’ll have to bring a lot of pressure. A lot of defense. A lot of inside fighting. I’ll have to smother him and deliver a lot of good body shots. There’s a lot of stuff that he hasn’t seen and that many of his opponents haven’t done to him. I’m very confident. I know I’m way stronger than him. I know my jab is longer than his. He has good footwork and defense, but in a fight, once you take all that away and you’re paired up pretty evenly in talent, the thing that lasts is the heart and the determination. We’ll see who wants it more when we get to that fight.
He’s been through a lot in life, and I’m sure he believes he has a ton of heart to display. Why do you believe you have more?
He can say this, I can say that. He’s been through some stuff, I’ve been through some stuff. There’s not much more to be said. Let’s get in there and show it. I can say clever stuff and he can, too, but at the end of the day, it’s going to be a fight. And that’s where you really see it. It’s not seen in what I say or what he says. It’s seen in the moment. So let’s see how it plays out.
(Top photo: Steve Marcus/Getty Images)
well @ChocolateGiddyUp youll be happy to know...benavidez lost his belt on the fukking scales...3 pounds overweight
Dallas' 4 Eva
Superstar
benavidez was obese as a kid...he started boxing to lose weight....his chin will be tested at either LHW or CW..those are punchers divisions
Dallas' 4 Eva
Superstar
But for his size that's really where he needs to be. Benavidez can punch too I think his power will definitely carry up.
Yup, if Zurdo and Hart can move up, he can too.
Dallas' 4 Eva
Superstar
Benavidez is like my size bruh, if I boiled my body down to the mininum I could MAYBE make Cruiserweight, which is why I knew Benavidez was never gonna be at 168 for very long.
Conscious Pilot
Do Better.
CokeBoy lost his belts on the Skeezo?
ChocolateGiddyUp
Superstar
im not happy cuz I wanna see Plant unify while dog walkin him all over the ring
3 pounds over tho ... give that man his cocaine back
ChocolateGiddyUp
Superstar
I thought the WBC doesn’t make other Champs Mandos?? Which was the Whole reason Matthysse threw the IBF in the trash stopping Swift from being undisputed 
WBC jus doin what they want or did the rules change ??
WBC jus doin what they want or did the rules change ??
I thought the WBC doesn’t make other Champs Mandos?? Which was the Whole reason Matthysse threw the IBF in the trash stopping Swift from being undisputed
WBC jus doin what they want or did the rules change ??
the WBC has been doing what they want with their belts..thats nothing new
