By Ian Aldous: David Benavidez (18-0) will aim to make history on Friday September 8th, when he faces Ronald Gavril (18-1), for the vacant WBC super-middleweight world championship, live on Showtime. He’ll become the youngest 168lbs world champion at just twenty years of age – if he defeats the Las Vegas – based Romanian. Earlier this week, Benavidez took some time away from training camp to talk with me over the phone about the fight and his journey to get here.
IA: First of all – Ronald Gavril for the WBC world title. What are you expecting on September 8th?
DB: I’ve trained very hard in this training camp. Everything I’ve trained for my whole life is right in front of me for this world title. And I feel like I’m going to go in there (pauses), Ronald Gavril is a strong fighter and I’m not overlooking him, but I think I’m going to go in there and knock him out.
IA: You were originally slated to fight Anthony Dirrell for the title that was vacated by Badou Jack. When that fell through, were you disappointed or still confident you’d get your shot at the gold, one way or another?
DB: I was a little disappointed because Anthony Dirrell looks like a strong fighter and was one of the fighters I did really want to fight. We had already signed the contracts, so when that went through I already knew I was getting a title shot. But, I was a little disappointed that I wasn’t able to fight him.
IA: In your title eliminator against Rogelio Medina back in May, you brutally punished the Mexican fighter. Were you shocked at how much punishment he took, and surprised it wasn’t stopped earlier?
DB: I knew he was going to take punishment all night and I knew I had to put him down a couple of times before the fight was stopped, because Porky Medina is an experienced fighter and he had an amazing will. He wasn’t going to get stopped by his corner, I had to put him down for the fight to be over.
IA: Do you believe you’re the hardest puncher in the world at 168lbs?
DB: I believe, as I get older, my power is becoming better and better. I believe within time I will be the hardest puncher at 168lbs.
IA: Has it been difficult to get fights due to your high KO percentage, as guys want to avoid you?
DB: Maybe it’s a little bit harder, but there’s always going to be somebody who thinks that I’m too young or I’m not good enough. There’s someone who wants to get that spot against me – so there’s always going to be somebody to fight.
IA: You did something pretty incredible when you were just fifteen years of age – sparring Gennady Golovkin. Abel Sanchez was very complimentary about how you performed too! Tell me a little bit more about what that was like?
DB: You know, working with Golovkin is always a pleasure, to work with a champion at that level. He’s a really great fighter, you know, I learn so much from him every time I’m at Big Bear training with him. I actually spar him quite a bit and he’s a great dude. I learn so much from him.
IA: You’ve sparred with quite a lot of big names. Who are some of the other fighters you’ve sparred with over the years?
DB: I’ve sparred Kelly Pavlik, Kid Chocolate (Peter Quillin), Lateef Kayode, Gabriel Rosado. I’ve sparred so many people, I can’t really remember all of them.
IA: Due to your excellent KO percentage, you’ve not actually fought a great deal of rounds as a professional. Do you feel like the top sparring you’ve had has given you the necessary experience, because you’ve knocked everyone out so quickly, obviously you’ve fought fewer rounds?
DB: We work so much on everything, we work a lot on patience, we don’t rush into anything. A lot of people think that I’m just a knockout fighter and just go in there looking for the knockout. I set up my jab and see what’s available. It’s definitely a lot of patience and we get that from the sparring.
IA: Tell me a little bit about only five or so years ago when you were much heavier than you are now, and lost huge amounts of weight to be able to fight at 168lbs now.
DB: When I was sixteen years old, I weighed about 250lbs. It was really hard (losing the weight), but it taught me from a young age – it taught me a lot of dedication, a lot of sacrifice. I think when you learn that from an early age – it’s really good for you in the long run.
IA: We’ve got the World Boxing Super Series coming up soon. Were you offered the chance to compete in the super-middleweight tournament? Who do you think will win?
DB: I was offered the chance to compete in it, but we took a different route. It kind of worked to our advantage that way, getting the title shot right now. That tournament looks like an amazing tournament. There’s so many great fighters in there. I can’t really say who’s going to win, but I maybe think Callum Smith will take it. But, there’s so many great fighters in it, we’ll have to wait and see who wins it.
IA: Am I right in saying the winner of you and Gavril will fight the winner of the tournament (due to WBC mandate)?
DB: Yeah, I think the winner of the tournament is going to end up fighting the winner of my fight with Ronald Gavril.
Benavidez vs. Gavril for the WBC super-middleweight world title will be live on Showtime at 10pm ET, on Friday September 8th, headlining the Premier Boxing Champions broadcast at the Hard Rock hotel & casino in Las Vegas.
Tickets are available from axs.com