By Dan Ambrose: Promoter Sampson Lewkowicz has three options for unbeaten newly crowned WBC interim 168-lb champion David Benavidez’s next fight in November after his win over David Lemieux last Saturday night.
Benavidez (26-0, 23 KOs) will fight one of these three in November: Caleb Plant, David Morrell Jr., or Jermall Charlo.
“We have three options for November,” said Lewkowicz on the options for David Benavidez’s next fight in November. “The first option is [Caleb] Plant. The second option is [David] Morrell, and the third one is [Jermall] Charlo. There is no other one.”
The easiest fight to make of those three is between Benavidez and WBA ‘regular’ super middleweight champion David Morrell (6-0, 5 KOs), but that’s one that won’t attract as much interest from casual & hardcore boxing fans because the Cuban talent hasn’t been fighting as a professional for long enough for him to gain a large fanbase.
Unfortunately, the fight that boxing fans have been clamoring for between the 25-year-old Benavidez and Canelo Alvarez won’t be happening in 2022, according to Lewkowicz.
He says Canelo will NEVER fight Benavidez, and he could be correct. Obviously, Lewkowicz is using some reverse psychology by questioning Canelo’s willingness to face Benavidez, but what other choice does he have?
Canelo has shown no interest in taking on Benavidez all these years, and there’s no indication that he’s going to decide on his own to finally face him.
“This is my job to knock people out. It was just open for everything I threw. I was using more body shots, but I should have used the jab a little bit more. It all worked out [anyway],” said David Benavidez to Fighthype when asked why he didn’t use his jab more often against David Lemieux.
“When I hurt him in the first round, I wanted to take him out,” Benavidez continued. “I should have gone back to the jab. I felt like I started going back to the job more in the third round. You need to be mature in that sense.
“I was always excited, but now I know for the future. I just worked hard. I worked my a** off for this camp,” said Benavidez when asked if he felt stronger in coming in at 166 lbs.
“But yeah, I think that has something to do [with it]. When I came here, I was 185. So, I was still 20 pounds, but I worked hard. It was the whole training camp. Everything, the motivation that I had.
“Just seeing the crowd, the crowd was crazy. I just wanted to give them a good fight, and I was happy about everything. Everything was perfect.
“I’ll beat the s*** out of both of them,” said Benavidez when asked ‘how many rounds does Caleb Plant and Jermall Charlo go based on tonight?’ “I don’t know; we’re going to have to see. I might have something sweet for Mr. Sweethands [Plant] himself. I’ll still lay his a** out.
“I think so,” said Benavidez when told that Stephen Espinoza of Showtime and his promoter Sampson Lewkowicz believe a fight with Caleb Plant could happen next.
“What else is there to make happen at 168? Canelo don’t want to fight nobody. So nobody in PBC. So why don’t we make that [Benavidez-Plant fight] happen? I’m not going to sit around and wait for Canelo. If we can make that happen, let’s get it. I’m ready,” said Benavidez.
Last Saturday night, Benavidez disposed of David Lemieux (43-5, 36 KOs) in three rounds to win the interim WBC super middleweight title at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
