Former world champion in the second middleweight (up to 76.2 kg), and now the owner of the “temporary” WBC title American David Benavidez (26-0, 23 KOs)
answered to questions from the American media.
Ahead of Benavidez is a duel against former US champion Caleb Plant (22-1, 13 KOs), which is scheduled for March 25 in Las Vegas (USA).
David was asked to comment on the recent Beterbiev-Yarde fight, a possible meeting with Artur, a future fight against Plant, a possible fight against the WBA light heavyweight super champion (up to 79.4 kg) Russian Dmitry Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) and the discussed fight for the title of the absolute champion of the light heavyweight division Beterbiev – Bivol.
“I think I have four super middleweight fights left. The reason I’m staying here for so long is because I wanted to do this fight (against Plant) and try to make other big fights. There’s Canelo, there’s Morrel, there’s Charlo and then after that there might be Andred, and after that I’ll go up to 79.4kg. But if I can’t do those fights, I’ll go up to 79.4kg.
– Speaking about the 79.4 kg division, what do you think of Artur Beterbiev’s performance against Anthony Yarde?
— I think it was a really good performance. But he (Beterbiev) often left himself open. It seems to me that I can act against him very successfully. I definitely want to fight him in the future. He often leaves his body open, you can beat him with combinations a lot. It will definitely be an extremely high risk and a difficult task. I would like to move up to this division first and see how I feel there before meeting with the main fighter. But I believe that at 79.4 kg I will be even stronger and faster.
Benavidez on conflict with Plant: “I threaten him, and he thinks about my pants”
– Who do you now consider the best in 79.4 kg: Beterbiev or Bivol?
Until they fight, you can’t tell. They are both champions. I think Bivol will beat Beterbiev, to be honest. But I can’t really tell until it happened. I think Bivol’s movements, the way he fights, how disciplined he is – I think he has what it takes to beat Beterbiev.
Canelo couldn’t beat Bivol. Do you think that you are the Mexican who will beat Bivol?
“I sparred a lot with Bivol, so I know what happened in those sparring sessions. Yes, I can beat him. I can knock him out!
– Do you think we will see a duel between Beterbiev and Bivol?
– Let’s hope. This is the fight everyone wants to see. Let’s hope they fight the mandatory challengers and make the fight after that.
– How do you understand that Canelo does not want to fight other Mexicans?
– I have no comments on this.
Benavidez and Plant almost got into a fight before the start of the press conference: video
“I saw you get turned on when you first started talking to Plant. How much anger and indignation do you have towards him?
– A lot of. Especially when the fight was signed. You need to put yourself in the situation to get the most out of yourself. I really don’t like this guy, I want to beat him. I’ll do it in the biggest arena possible. Here’s how it really is. I’m ready for anything. I’m ready for whatever comes with it.
– You predicted a knockout before the sixth round. Considering we haven’t seen Caleb Plant in this position at the beginning of the fight, do you think you’ll do something that no one has done yet?
Yes, he hasn’t been in the ring with me yet. David Benavidez is bigger, stronger. We both have speed, but mine is faster. I have blows to the head, to the body, I have everything. But like I said, this fight and this training camp will bring out the best in me. We still have seven fucking weeks ahead of us and I already did 12 rounds with 3 different sparring partners 2 weeks ago! So everything is on point now.
He is afraid of. You saw his eyes. They fucking shine. It looked like he was about to cry. When the coach approached him and started talking, you noticed that he was very quiet. He didn’t want to brag, because he didn’t have self-confidence. I know exactly what I’ll do. He was knocked down before and I know I can knock him out! I shocked everyone I was in the ring with in sparring and fighting, and I’ve been fighting since I was 13 years old. And this situation is no different.
By the way, the experienced Hopkins already knows who will win in the battle between Benavidez and Plant.