David Benavidez Creepin’ on a Come-Up!
On Saturday September 28, David “Red Flag” Benavidez (22-0, 19 KO’s) successfully recaptured his WBC super-middleweight title from Anthony “The Dog” Dirrell (33-2-1, 24 KO’s). The two men put on an action-packed fight that was cut short due to Dirrell suffering a long, nasty gash.
There is little doubt Benavidez would have preferred a traditional stoppage. However, he is more than content to collect the victory in this fashion. Now that the WBC belt is back in his possession, Benavidez can look ahead to his next professional endeavor.
WHO’S NEXT?!
The native Arizonan has made no effort to hide his intention to unify the division. As the youngest champion in the weight-class, Benavidez wants to continue his pursuit to become the face of super-middleweight. Similarly, it’s no secret that he wants to face his top rival and IBF super-middleweight champion, Caleb “Sweet Hands” Plant (19-0, 11 KO’s). Given his preference, Plant would definitely be his next assignment.
Sweet Hands is certainly his preferred opponent. Still, Benavidez would be just as satisfied if he solidified a bout with WBA champion Callum “Mundo” Smith (26-0, 19 KO’s) or WBO champion Billy Joe “Superb” Saunders (28-0, 13 KO’s). More so than a specific name, overall the Red Flag simply wants to reign as the true, undeniable kingpin of the division.
“That’s the dream, so my goal right now is becoming, you know, the main man at PBC. The main man getting all the belts […] it’s not going to be an easy task! You got Caleb Plant, you got, who else?
“Callum Smith with all the other belts, then you got Billy Joe Saunders. So my main goal is you know, becoming the king at 168, and then if a possibility fighting with Canelo Alvarez, if possible that’s the dream fight.”
KEEPING PERSPECTIVE
It should be noted that the WBC champion is not suffering from delusions of grandeur. He fully understands that each of his fellow champions are serious business and nothing to take lightly.
Yet, even while bearing this in mind, he is confident that his star will shine the brightest. One might think that a fighter with such lofty ambitions would be dying to headline his own card. Sure, Benavidez would welcome top billing, yet at the moment he is content to maintain his supporting role…on big cards that is!
For his last two bouts, the Red Flag has filled in as the co-main event for Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr (26-0, 21 KO’s). When directly questioned about this by Blue Blood Sports TV, Benavidez gave a somewhat surprising answer that he was not pressed about the current situation.
He understands that, like any commercial product, he must be properly marketed to the masses. This is why he presently has no objections to appearing on the Truth’s very high profile cards. So long as his notoriety continues to spread, he is one happy camper.
“I don’t have a problem fighting on these big undercards, you know what I mean? It’s my second time on pay-per-view, as long as you know I’m getting good exposure as well, I feel like the more the fans see me, people that don’t know me; a lot of people know Errol Spence, you know, its good exposure for me.
“Obviously, everyone is going to love the way I fight because I give them the fights they want to see.”
SIBLING RIVALRY
Outside of eventually headlining his own card, another notable milestone Benavidez would like to achieve is once again fighting on the same card with his brother, welterweight Jose “Merciless” Benavidez (27-1, 18 KO’s). While that would be fun, the WBC super-middleweight champ realizes that politics are standing firmly in the way.
The problem lies in David being a PBC fighter, whereas Jose is a Top Rank fighter. At the present moment, there is a not so quiet war going on between the two factions.
In lighthearted fashion, David poked a bit of fun at Jose. He did so by stating that the PBC side of the street provides substantially more lucrative paydays than does Top Rank. All in all, however, David Benavidez is very happy with where is career is at and is looking to the future with a great deal of excitement and confidence.
“My brother is with Top Rank right now you know what I mean. So that’s definitely another dream, you know, they have to take care of everything on their side. That’s definitely a big motivation for me.
“I fought on his cards back a long time ago, so if he could get out of Top Rank and come to PBC that’d be amazing […] I tell him I make a little bit more money than you! That’s the thing about PBC, we make good money!
3kingsboxing will continue to provide all the latest breaking news in Benavidez’s rapidly developing career.
By: Bakari Simpson
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