By Dan Ambrose: Jose Benavidez Sr. says his son, WBC interim super middleweight champion David Benavidez can’t afford to lose or struggle to win against Demetrius Andrade in December.
According to Jose Sr, a win for the former two-division world champion Andrade would turn him into a “superstar” because he would be the one that defeated Benavidez, who some fans view as the #1 guy at 168.
Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) must make a statement to set himself apart from fighters like Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs) to show fans that he’s the best at 168.
It’s still unclear if the Benavidez vs. Andrade fight is going to happen because Demetrius is saying that they haven’t signed the contract for the fight. In response, Jose Sr. is asking that Andrade hasn’t signed.
Fans would be more willing to buy Jose Sr’s side if they didn’t recently steer away from David Morrell Jr. when he called David out.
Benavidez must stop Andrade
“We asked for him. We signed first. We’re waiting for him. I’m hoping he did sign the contract because I haven’t heard,” said Jose Benavidez Sr. to Fighthype about Demetrius Andrade fighting David Benavidez.
“We got to make history, look impressive. We can’t just win by decision. You know David. He’s a warrior, he’s an animal, he’s the Mexican monster. You know how he fights. We’re going to come and beat him. We have to make a statement.”
After the way Benavidez struggled in his last fight against Caleb Plant, Jose Sr. shouldn’t worry about him making a statement against Andrade and just focus on trying to win.
Benavidez would have lost to Plant without him gassing out because he was getting a boxing lesson through the first five rounds.
“We have to stop him; we have to look impressive. We can’t just beat him. It’s not an easy task, but we are going to come 100% ready to make that statement to show the world that David is on another level,” said Jose Sr. “We got to prove ourselves; we’ve got to continue to prove ourselves.
“I believe in my mind that you have to have the mentality of a warrior and that you are going to win. I haven’t wanted to put out any videos because I didn’t want to scare him away. David has been training.
“David, after his fight with Caleb Plant, took a week off and then came back to the gym to keep maintaining. Like I said. I didn’t want to put out any videos and scare him away. We chose him.”
Benavidez is going to need to start losing weight now because he looked big in a recent workout video. Right now, he looks like a cruiserweight, a big one, and it’s hard to imagine him draining down to 168 to fight Andrrade.
“I don’t think he’s a better fighter,” said Jose Sr. when asked if he thinks Andrade is a better fighter than Caleb Plant. “They’re two different fighters. Caleb Plant showed a lot of heart, he throws a lot of combinations. He keeps his distance really well, and his IQ is super good,” said Jose Sr.
Demetrius very dangerous
“I heard we’re 100% ready to go in December. He’s a very dangerous fighter, and that’s why he’s undefeated,” said Benavidez Sr. “They [Canelo] didn’t want to take the risk of fighting him. Like us now. If we beat him, what do we win? Where do we go?
“If he beats David, that’s a big win for him. We have nothing to win. Nah, they’re going to say, ‘He’s too old. David is too strong for him. We knew that he was just a hype,'” said Jose Sr. about his opinion that boxing fans won’t give Benavidez credit if he defeats the 35-year-old Andrade.
“If he [Demetrius] beats David, now he’s a superstar. Now he wins a lot. What do we win? No,” said Jose Sr. when told that beating Andrade would give Benavidez his best career win.
“He doesn’t offer a lot, but we’re willing to fight, don’t get me wrong. We’re willing to fight him, but I wish we had the respect,” said Jose Sr., continuing to complain about Benavidez not gaining much by beating Andrade.
“I know he’s a dangerous fighter, a slick fighter and awkward. He’s good, but they’re not going to give us the credit. I wish they would to beat him,” said Jose Sr. about Andrade.
