David Benavidez will be facing his toughest career test in eight days when he defends his interim WBC super middleweight title against Demetrius Andrade on November 25th.
Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs) is looking to take Benavidez’s place in the slot to fight for the WBC 168-lb title in 2024. A win here for Andrade would ruin the many years that Benavidez has been chasing a fight against Canelo Alvarez.
The fight has a lot of meaning for both fighters, as there won’t be any more for either guy on Showtime. This is the last year the network will show boxing, apart from a handful of Canelo fights in 2024.
The former two-division world champion Andrade questions whether Benavidez has the athleticism to beat him because he has slow feet and tends to plod forward.
The southpaw Andrade’s jab, angeles & movement could give Benavidez fits in this fight. In the Mexican Monster’s last fight against Caleb Plant, he resembled Frankenstein’s monster with the way he came forward in a slow, cumbersome manner, eating shots from ‘Sweethands’ Plant, and he would have lost the fight for sure if not the former IBF 168-lb champion gassing out.
Andrade to showcase his talent on November 25th
“Everybody I’ve been in the ring with always hits the floor, always hit the canvas,” said Demetrius Andrade to Showtime All Access. “I’m the type of person like, once I put my mind to it, I’m going to become whatever it is I want to become.
“I became a two-division world champion. I’m looking to become my third now,” said Andrade, who takes on interim WBC super middleweight champion David Benavidez on November 25th.
Benavidez’s chin isn’t made of steel, like some fans think, as he was put down by Ronald Gavril in their first fight in September 2017 and arguably deserved a loss. He got lucky, winning a twelve round split decision, but a lot of boxing fans had Gavril doing enough to deserve the win.
If Benavidez continues to fight the way he does, he’s going to be null & void by the time his career is over.
If Andrade can put Benavidez on the canvas, he’s got an excellent chance of keeping him there. The loss would be a good lesson for Benavidez because it would show that he needs to make changes in his game. He can’t expect to walk through all of his opponent’s shots his entire career without eventually getting sparked out.
“I know how to break down people. I know I can fight,” said Andrade. “Once I get into the groove of things, and I know you can’t do a certain thing or go a certain way because your body isn’t coordinated enough to do that, then it’s the new and still,” said Andrade.
That comment from Andrade about coordination is aimed at Benavidez, who isn’t the most coordinated fighter in the 168-lb division, but he’s been able to get over due to his opposition being weak, middle-of-the-road guys, many of them down on their luck by the time they fought him.
“At this point in time, we don’t need any monkey business or bring any extra baggage,” said Andrade. “We just need to stick to the goal and have fun, and understand, like this is bigger than me; this is bigger than everybody is going to get their piece of greatness once it’s all said and done. I know I can fight.
“I wouldn’t be 32-0 with 19 knockouts. Yeah, every fight isn’t whatever because you’re not giving me the opportunity to showcase, but this is going to be a showcase fight right here,” said Andrade.
It’s great that Benavidez was willing to fight Andrade because he’s been swerved by the top guys in every division he’s fought at during his career. It took fifteen years for Andrade to finally get a top-level guy that is willing to fight him.
Will Benavidez shock the world?
“I’ve always looked up to him [Jose Jr.], and that’s why I started boxing because I always wanted to be like my brother,” said David Benavidez. “It’s been a super long patch, really unpredictable, but the thing is, every time we focus ourselves 100% on boxing, we know exactly where we’re going.
“It’s a great feeling because it’s also a huge fight for him, and he’s definitely going to shock the world,” said Benavidez about his older brother Jose Benavidez Jr., who will be taking on Jermall Charlo in the co-main event.
It’s more likely to be a case of Jermall Charlo steamrolling over Jose Benavidez Jr. and making it look easy. Benavidez Jr. lost to Danny Garcia, a small guy who couldn’t exist with big Charlo.
“For him to be here with me and my dad, I finally feel like we’re complete,” said Benavidez about his smaller brother Jose Jr. “Two kids that sat out on this journey and they didn’t know where they would end u, and now we’re here.
“We’re a team, and if one of us is missing, it’s not the same,” said Benavidez Jr. “So being there right next to each other sparring, we’re there to better each other. I’m going to tell you this. I give David a run for his money. He gives me a run for my money.
“We’ve been fighting together for our whole lives. Very competitive, for sure. When we’re in the ring, we’re not brothers. It’s not, ‘Oh, we’re going to throw whatever punch.’ It’s a chess game in there,” said Benavidez Jr. about him working out with his brother David.
“I want to be better than him, and he wants to be better than me,” said David Benavidez. “We definitely push each other and make sure we’re on our P’s & Q’s, and working extremely hard.
“It means the world to me to be with my dad and my brother. It started with us when we were in the garage when we were two years old, and we’re still doing it. I feel like every time I spar my brother, I’m at my best IQ. Not only because he can box a certain way, but he can also adapt and do certain stuff,” said Benavidez.
“He turned lefty; he turned orthodox. He did a lot of stuff that not a lot of regular people can do.”
“It’s tough. It’s a war in there for sure,” said Jose Jr. “He’s fast. For that weight, he’s fast. He’s definite for greatness, that’s for sure.”
“Both of us are destined for greatness, the whole Benavidez family,” said David.
