By Sean Jones: David Benavidez is looking forward to two huge unification fights in April between welterweight champions Errol Spence Jr. and Yordenis Ugas & super featherweight champs Oscar Valdez and Shakur Stevenson.
Benavidez feels that WBA 147-lb champion Ugas (27-4, 12 KOs) can’t be counted out of his unification fight against IBF/WBC champion Spence Jr (27-0, 21 KOs) on April 16th on Showtime pay-per-view at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Spence’s recent eye surgery leaves a lot of questions about whether he’s going to make it through the fight with the hard-hitting Cuban Ugas without reinjuring it. If not for the eye injury, you’d have to assume that the 31-year-old Spence will have too much for Ugas.
Benavidez says the fight he wants to see is Spence vs. Keith Thurman. That one will create a lot of interest and a battle that either guy can win.
Thurman’s movement in his comeback victory over Mario Barrios will give Spence fits trying to deal with. Spence is used to his opponents standing directly in front of him so he can get his big shots off, but he won’t be able to do that against Thurman.
Benavidez: Spence’s bread & butter, the body shots
“It’s going to be a great fight. I know Ugas more personally, but Spence is a great fighter, bro,” said David Benavidez to Fighthype on the April 16th unification fight between Spence and Ugas.
“I feel like you can’t count Ugas out because he beat Pacquiao, the great Pacquiao,” said Benavidez. “That’s what I was going to get at [Pacquiao being old at 42], but I think Errol Spence might have the edge.
“But I’m excited to see that fight. Hopefully, nothing goes wrong [with Spence]. The injury [torn retina] that he’s coming back from was really severe. Hopefully, he’s 100%. I’m ready to see [Keith] Thurman and Errol Spence. That’s really what I want to see.
“I was really impressed with Thurman. He was really swoll and in great shape, so I’m excited to see that. But hats off to Mario Barrios; he’s a f**** warrior. He stood in there and landed some good shots, but I feel like the 147-lb weight class is on fire right now.
“When you get hit with heavy shots like that, he [Barrios] was getting hit with a lot of heavy shots [from Thurman], a lot of heavy shots. That’s the thing I like about Thurman. He’s a boxer, but he’s a heavy puncher, bro. He’s a heavy, but he moves around a lot.
“It’s going to be a great fight between him and Spence. With him and Spence, since you see that Thurman gets hurt to the body a lot, that’s going to be Spence’s bread & butter, the body shot,” Benavidez said.
Valdez vs. Stevenson preview
On April 30th, the best super featherweights in the world battle it out for supremacy, with Oscar Valdez facing Shakur Stevenson on April 30th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Valdez-Stevenson has the potential of being a barnburner, but that’ll largely depend on what version of Shakur Stevenson shows up on the night.
If the Stevenson that fought Jamel Herring last October is inside the ring on April 30th against Valdez, it should be a great fight from start to finish.
On the flip side, if we see the skittish, scared-looking Shakur that spoiled his way to a win over Jeremiah Nakathila last June show up, the boxing fans are going to see a boring cat & mouse match for 12 rounds.
It all comes down to Stevenson. We won’t have much to see if he chooses to use his boring pull-back fighting style for the complete 12 rounds.
“It’s going to be a great fight, bro,” said Benavidez on the April 30th unification fight between WBC 130-lb champion Oscar Valdez and WBO champion Shakur Stevenson.
“I want to see the Valdez that I seen against [Miguel] Berchelt. I feel like in his last fight [against Robson Conceicao], he didn’t really look too good, but he really had a lot of pressure on him too. Sometimes that pressure can eat you alive.
“But Stevenson is a completely different animal. I was very impressed when he fought Jamel Herring. He’s a very good counter puncher. It’s like he’s in there, but he’s not. He’s in there to hit you, but when it’s your turn to hit him, he’s not in there.
“So, it’s definitely going to be a great fight for both of them,” said Benavidez about the Valdez vs. Shakur fight. “Whoever wins that fight is definitely the man in that weight class because those are two hard fights for any champion in that weight class.
“I feel like Valdez, what is it called when you’re throwing the left hook too much, that you rely on the hook too much. He relies on the hook too much, especially fighters like that. You’re not going to land on shots like that.
“Hopefully, he learns. Shakur is a great fighter, but Valdez is a great fighter as well, but he’s going to have to be ready to counter a lot with Shakur’s slickness. It’s a good fight,” said Benavidez.
