David Benavidez says he observed that Jermall Charlo isn’t showing the same energy as he has in the build-up for his past fights, and he believes his brother, Jose Benavidez Jr., has put the scare in him and will knock him out on Saturday night.
The 31-year-old career fringe contender Benavidez Jr. (28-2-1, 19 KOs) isn’t going to be able to intimidate his way to victory over the unbeaten Jermall (32-0, 22 KOs) this Saturday in their catchweight fight at super middleweight on Showtime pay-per-view at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.
Charlo isn’t the type of fighter that will be frightened by a smaller, weaker guy like Benavidez Jr. Let’s look at the facts. Jose Sr. is only getting this gig because of his popular brother, David Benavidez.
Other than that, Jose Benavidez Jr. doesn’t belong in the same ring as Jermall in terms of talent, weight, and achievement. This is just a tune-up opponent for Charlo, who has been out of the ring for two and a half years.
Benavidez Jr. was chosen because Jermall needed a warm-up opponent to get the ring rust out, and it was better for the promotion to have David’s brother be the opponent for Charlo.
In hindsight, it probably wasn’t a good idea to have Jose Jr. used as Jermall’s opponent because if he gets destroyed, it could upset Benavidez, who might react by fighting recklessly in his main event clash against Demetrius Andrade.
If Benavidez is in a state of rage after watching his brother Jose Jr. get bludgeoned by Jermall, he could fight like a wild man against Andrade and get royally picked apart.
David already has a bad style to be fighting the slick, highly technical Andrade, but it would be worse for the huge light heavyweight-sized Benavidez if he’s fighting like a primitive. You can’t do that against a talent like Andrade, because you’ll make you look silly.
Benavidez doesn’t see energy from Jermall Charlo
“He’s really dialed in. I see the fire in his eyes; everyone sees the fire in his eyes,” said David Benavidez to Fight Hub TV, talking about his brother, 31-year-old Jose Benavidez Jr, who is taking on unbeaten star Jermall Charlo, this Saturday night on Showtime PPV in Las Vegas.
“He’s [Jose Benavidez Jr.] trying to become the best too. He knows exactly what he has to do. I seen him put in the work myself, and he’s been training for a long time. So this is the biggest opportunity he’s ever had, so he’s definitely going to cash in.”
Benavidez calling it a “cash-in” for his brother Jose Jr. suggests that this is just about money for him, getting an opportunity for a nice payday against Jermall, and likely the last significant one of his career.
After this fight, Benavidez Jr. probably won’t be getting any more opportunities for paydays, especially if Jermall knocks him out within six rounds.
Jermall would have been better off using a relevant fringe contender from the 160 or 168 lb divisions to get the cobwebs off than using Benavidez Jr because he’s too small, weak, and mediocre to be helpful in the true sense.
“What I picked up is Jermall’s energy is not really how it is toward everybody’s fighter,” said Benavidez. “He can say all he wants, but he’s never let anybody talk to him like that.
“He’s usually the one screaming at people, talking s*** to people, doing this, doing that, and I know my brother [Jose Jr] is a scary guy, and I didn’t see the same energy from Charlo as I always see,” said Benavidez.
It seems like a simple-minded way to look at this fight, Benavidez believing that his older brother, Jose Jr., can intimidate Jermall into not fighting the way he normally does.
Jermall has always been a brawler his entire career, and it’s not realistic to believe he’ll be cowed by a smaller, weaker, lesser fighter like Benavidez Jr.
Jose Benavidez Jr. getting long overdue opportunity
“Like I said, they know what they’re doing. They got to put in the work as well, but I feel my brother is going to go in there and knock Charlo out,” Benavidez continued.
Jose Sr. is certainly going to TRY to knockout Jermall on Saturday, but he’s only stopped one fighter in the last five years and that was the hapless journeyman Sladan Janjanin (38-17, 26 KOs) in his last fight. Benavidez Jr. is NOT a knockout puncher and has never stopped a top-tier opponent before.
It’ll be interesting to see how David Benavidez reacts if Jose Jr. is decimated by Jermall on Saturday. Will Benavidez be angry enough to forget about his obsession with fighting Canelo Alvarez to want to try and avenge his brother’s loss by taking on Jermall next?
That would be fun to watch, especially with Benavidez having so much on the line for the fight. I mean, if he loses to Jermall, that would be the end of him getting the Canelo payday fight that he’s been pushing for. At that point, the only way Benavidez could get the opportunity is if Canelo feels sorry for him and throws a bone at the beaten ‘Mexican Monster.’
“My brother is a strong, strong person,” Benavidez said about Jose Jr. “He was shot in his leg. They said he wasn’t supposed to walk again. Eight months later, he fights Crawford. Now, he’s fighting Charlo. So, he’s a very strong guy mentally, and he’s been working extremely hard. So, we’re just excited to see his fight, too.
“I feel like this opportunity for him is long overdue. So, he’s worked hard, he knows what’s in front of him, and he knows exactly what to do. This is the first fight where it’s back-to-back.
“It is kind of stressful for me because I get nervous when he fights. I’m sure he gets nervous when I fight, but we’re just going to be locked in, dialed in, and ready to do what we have to do.
“We don’t let that kind of stuff go into our heads. Our plan is victory, that’s it. We don’t think about losses, we don’t think about none of that. We’re extremely strong mentally, so we’re going to be ready for whatever,” said Benavidez.
