Jose Benavidez Looking to Double Back for Fight with Erislandy Lara
Had things gone their way, “Merciless” Jose Benavidez Jr (27-2-1, 18 KO’s) would have just collected a major scalp and was looking to press for a title fight on solid ground. Instead, Benavidez Jr. was thoroughly out-boxed and out-worked by two-division champion Danny Garcia. Now, on the wrong end of a wide majority decision loss, Team Benavidez is forced to limp into a proposed title fight.
Naturally, Jose Benavidez Sr., chief second to Merciless, was reluctant to throw his son and charge under the bus. In the post-fight conference, he stated that he thought the fight was close and could have gone his son’s way. More than likely those words sprang more from loyalty than reality. Either way, out of the shambles of the night’s events, Benavidez Sr. attempted to piece together another significant opportunity for his son.
“We came to give them a good fight, we are fucking warriors! We come to fight, Team Benavidez comes to fight, he was just running around! He just wanted to win the fight! It takes two to tango, so I think we could have gave the fans a better fight and that didn’t happen with Danny Garcia. I have a lot of respect for him, but he just did this fight only to win.
[…] Before this fight, we were going to fight [Erislandy] Lara; they gave me a choice of Lara or Danny Garcia. I thought, in my opinion, Lara was for a world title. I wanted to take that fight but Junior wasn’t ready, he was doing a movie coming up pretty soon for everybody, stay tuned. So that’s why we decided to go for Danny Garcia, but now I think we should take that fight with Lara.”
BUT WHY, THOUGH?!
While a fight with Regular WBA middleweight champion Erislandy “The American Dream” Lara (29-3-3, 17 KO’s) might have been on the table at one point, there is little rationale for Lara to travel that road now. After all, Merciless is now 0-2-1 in his last three matches with his last official win coming in 2018. In the fight directly prior to his dustup with Garcia, even Benavidez Jr. himself admits he looked terrible versus Francisco Torres. Now he is coming off another clear defeat. How can anyone say this course of events warrants even a secondary title shot?
To make matters worse, it’s beyond evident that Merciless can’t do anything with movers. It’s a huge part of his personal lore that Benavidez Jr. was shot in the leg and was told he would never walk again. Obviously, he defied all expectations and worked his way back to legitimate professional competition. But feel good story or no, it seems Merciless will always be a step behind the top guys in terms of footwork and speed.
True, this more grizzled and well-seasoned version of Lara has lost quite a bit of speed himself. Yet he should have enough for the shrapnel-filled knee of Benavidez Jr. For their sake, it would be great if Merciless got the match with Lara. Unfortunately, odds are going forward that Benavidez Jr. is going to become more of a quality and well-known “opponent” than a realistic contender. Only time will tell, so let’s see how it all plays out!
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By: Bakari Simpson
