He’s not the little, round chubby kid anymore. He’s not the kid who made some reckless mistakes, either. No, David Benavidez has turned himself and his career around to the point of becoming the No. 2 super middleweight in the world, behind undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez.

On Saturday on Showtime Pay-Per-View (8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT) from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Benavidez (27-0, 23 knockouts) gets to hammer that point home against undefeated 35-year-old southpaw Demetrius Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs) in a 168-pound 12-round main event.

This is the first signature fight of Andrade’s career. For the 26-year-old Benavidez, the former two-time WBC super middleweight titlist, this fight could translate into the super fight he’s wanted for years—a chance at Alvarez.

Handing Andrade his first defeat may only establish where Benavidez currently stands, though in Andrade, a tricky, slick opponent with dubious power, he is fighting for his career.

“I can see the point of view that he is desperate, but the other viewpoint is I’m a desperate man, too, because if I lose, that would put me in the back of the bus,” Benavidez said. “I don’t want to go there. It took me 10 years to get here. My first pay-per-view was in March. This is my second pay-per-view. A loss puts in the back of the bus. I make every fight a world title for me. That’s the way I’m looking at this fight. I don’t care what anyone says.

“I put everything into every training camp to guarantee myself a victory. I think that’s what makes me so dangerous. I also understand that’s what makes Demetrius Andrade so dangerous, too. At the end of the day, when you get two men like that, it makes for a great fight. That’s what this will be, a great fight for boxing. I’m not going to lose to anyone.”

Benavidez experienced a lot of adversity, much of which was self-imposed, early in his career. In September 2018, it was revealed he tested positive for a banned substance called benzoylecgonine, the key ingredient in cocaine. The positive test curtailed the second title defense of the WBC super middleweight bout against Anthony Dirrell. He received a four-month suspension and relinquished the WBC belt. Benavidez showed accountability in apologizing for his mistake and came back. Benavidez returned to regain the WBC super middleweight belt by stopping Dirrell for the first time in his career. In the first defense in his second reign against Roamer Alexis Angulo, Benavidez this time lost the belt on the scales.

“There are things I had to take care of internally, and today my world is God, family and boxing, in that order,” Benavidez said. “I have evolved much more because of discipline. I go to the gym, come back home, and go back to the gym. Once you find something that you have a passion for, and you don’t mind doing it, it’s not a job. Things come to you on their own. You have a problem and learn to solve it. I have a tremendous passion for the sport. The work is not getting done. I have more work to do.

“There was a time I didn’t love the sport at one time in my life, no. I always had a passion for the sport, but now that I’m really on top of the sport, I definitely now love the sport. I have a three-year-old son and I’m expecting a daughter in December and I want to spread my love of boxing to all the young ones in the gym.”

As for Andrade, Benavidez feels this fight will be a barometer where he stands.

“I don’t want to sound like I have a big ego or anything, but I’m going to smoke this guy out of the ring,” Benavidez said. “I’ve been working extremely hard. I’m pushing it to 110-percent every single day and I’m enjoying doing it. I’m looking forward to going in there and making this a war. If he wants to run from me all night, I’m going to find him. If he wants to brawl with me all night, I’ll be there to brawl with him. I’m a warrior. I don’t shy away from wars. I invited Andrade.”

Boxing knows what 6-foot Andrade most likely will do—use his right-hand jab, move laterally and try to keep the 6-foot-2 Benavidez away.

“I’m going to shut that down,” Benavidez said. “It doesn’t matter. Once you are a great fighter, you can shut down any style. That’s the type of fighter I am. I shut everybody down. Demetrius Andrade is no different. Caleb Plant was running a lot and holding a lot, and I caught up to him. Maybe Andrade does the same. The referee has to do his job. It’s a 12-round fight. I learned from the Plant fight to deal with adversity.”

Joseph Santoliquito is hall of fame, award-winning sportswriter who has been working for Ring Magazine/RingTV.com since October 1997 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Follow @JSantoliquito

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