David Benavidez defeated Demetrius Andrade for the interim WBC title

One of the most anticipated fights of the year, despite its transience, turned out to be very interesting. Having struggled early in his fight for the interim World Boxing Council (WBC) super middleweight title against a seemingly well-prepared Demetrius Andrade, David Benavidez then confirmed his status as an exceptionally talented fighter by first dispatching his opponent knocked down, and after the sixth round forced him to abandon the continuation of the match. At stake in it, in addition to a not-so-prestigious belt, was probably a meeting with the famous Saul Alvarez, holder of the status of absolute champion in the category.

It seems that the most pleasant event for David Benavidez that evening occurred after the end of his fight against Demetrius Andrade, which took place in Las Vegas. Benavidez, celebrating his success, suddenly jumped out of the ring to hug one of the spectators. Of course, everyone immediately recognized the viewer – Mike Tyson. And it turned out that he, a legend among legends, had long been a personal fan of David Benavidez. And it was Tyson who came up with the nickname “Mexican Monster” for him (actually, Benavidez is an American, but his roots actually come from Mexico), thus emphasizing his admiration for the unusualness of his talent. And the winner was happy to say that, of course, he couldn’t help but approach Tyson first of all to say how much he loved him and what a powerful motivation having such a fan gave him.

Mike Tyson himself, presumably, was completely satisfied with what happened in this match. In any case, there was nowhere to escape from the feeling that by defending his title, David Benavidez cemented the idea of ​​himself as a completely extraordinary fighter, deserving of fame and everything that comes with it. There was even a plot of the duel – much more intricate than the person who would have seen only its result could have solved.

Demetrius Andrade, another one with a clean, all-winning track record and a recognized American phenomenon, but with somewhat different properties than Benavidez – with an emphasis more on subtlety than on power, started this fight coolly. So cool that there was a great temptation to think that Andrade had calculated his opponent to the tenth decimal place, that there was some difference in size (and the challenger, a former champion in the first middleweight (up to 69.9 kg) and middleweight (up to 72.6 kg) I switched to super middleweight a few months ago) doesn’t bother him at all. Benavidez was driven to the ropes and was being pummeled with nasty punches. Surprisingly, according to the results of each of the two starting rounds, Andrade was ahead on all three judges’ cards.

However, this spurt of his only highlighted more clearly the dignity of David Benavidez, which until now had been paid a little less attention than the others. The ability to adapt to an opponent, to “mimic” the situation was seen as Demetrius Andrade’s trump card. In this case, he was pulled out of his sleeve by Benavidez, who had already found the distance and rhythm in the third round. And in the fourth, he caught Andrade with such a right hook to the head that, at least from the outside, the knockdown looked very difficult.

Demetrius Andrade, however, after him still tried to sparkle with his non-standard combinations and movements, but it was already too clear how difficult it was for him to withstand the cannonade falling on him every now and then. And Andrade’s shabby appearance perfectly matched the final statistics, for example, on accented shots that reached the target. Benavidez’s superiority, despite the torment in the opening, turned out to be more than double: 102 versus 49.

Referee Thomas Taylor, seeing where everything was going, asked Demetrius Andrade in the corner about the possibility of stopping the fight after the fifth round. When the sixth ended, his seconds admitted the obvious by not returning the boxer to the ring. And David Benavidez, enjoying the delight of the public and his main fan, reminded that there were no super middleweight champions younger than him, a 26-year-old fighter, and that his achievements insist on giving him an even better fight. “Give me Canelo!” he shouted.

And everyone understood what was meant. Well, yes, Canelo, that is, Saul Alvarez, the outstanding Mexican boxer, holds all four super middleweight belts. And the fact that it would be nice for him to fight David Benavidez, since he is showing himself so well, was actually talked about even before his match with Demetrius Andrade. And now this confrontation has become even more urgent.

Alexey Dospehov