GLENDALE, Ariz. – David Benavidez believes he is the true king at 168-pounds.
The unbeaten former two-time super middleweight world champion demolished David Lemieux in three one-sided rounds Saturday evening at Gila River Arena. After the fight, he made it clear that he’s ready to take on the best the division has to offer.
“I definitely feel I’m the best super middleweight in the world,” he stated. “I’m not taking no for an answer. People say this and that, but at the end of the day, these people that talk all that, they haven’t fought me; they haven’t seen me; they haven’t seen what I can do – I know what I’m capable of.
Photo Credit; Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing Champions
And I know when the going gets tough, I know what comes out of me – the beast comes out of me. I didn’t even get pushed [by Lemieux]. Once I really get in a fight where it’s 50/50, and the guy brings the best out of me, you’ll see a whole completely different David Benavidez. This was just the tip of the iceberg.“
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (57-2-2, 39 KOs), who was soundly defeated by Dmitry Bivol on May 7 in Las Vegas in a failed attempt to become a two-time light heavyweight titlist, remains the undisputed 168-pound world champion. However, Sampson Lewkowicz, Benavidez’s promoter, insisted the fight would likely never take place.
David Benavídez(L) pictured here with Showtime Sports Head Stephen Espinoza(C) and Promoter Sampson Lewkowicz
“We have three options for November; one is [Caleb] Plant, the second one is [David] Morrell, and the third one is [Jermall] Charlo,” he told New York Fights. “There’s no other guy. Canelo [won’t fight Benavidez]. So don’t continue [to fantasize] on Canelo.
He will not take [the next step] to fight the real champion, the champion of the people. So let’s not talk anymore about Canelo. It doesn’t exist.”
Photo Credit: Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing Champions
Lewkowicz continued to rail against Alvarez, adding the former four-division world champion fought so poorly against Bivol that he doesn’t believe the Mexican superstar “can come back” from the loss and face Benavidez (26-0, 23 KOs).
“Maybe we take a 40-year-old man, but besides that, he will not do nothing else. So please, don’t talk anymore about Canelo, [the fight won’t] happen, and it will never happen most likely. I imagine Plant is the best one [for November] because they have a personal vendetta for a long time. So if you really want the fight, he’ll be ready for Plant, for Morrell [because he talks] too much, and Charlo. And Charlo will be a hard one to make, but it’s a great pay-per-view.”
