NotiFight / Fotos: Esther Lin/Showtime / 19.May 2022
Undefeated two-time world champion and Phoenix native David “El Bandera Roja” Benavídez will meet former Canadian world champion David Lemieux in a World Boxing Council (WBC) interim super middleweight title matchup to be held this same Saturday, May 21, at the “Gila River Arena” in Glendale (Phoenix), Arizona.
The fight, which is part of the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) series, will be televised on Showtime.
Benavídez and Lemieux met face-to-face at the final press conference on Thursday, which also featured hard-hitting Cuban prospect Yoelvis Gómez and Mexican Jorge Cota, who square off in the 10-a-side super welterweight co-main event. rounds, and undefeated prospects Luis “The Twist” Núñez and Jonathan Fierro.
The 25-year-old Benavidez has twice captured super middleweight gold throughout his career, including becoming the youngest super middleweight champion in boxing history by defeating Ronald Gavril on Showtime in 2017 with just 20 years. He will now look to move closer to a third world title against Montreal’s Lemieux, a former middleweight champion who has won three fights in a row since moving to 168 pounds full-time in late 2019.
Here’s what the fighters had to say Thursday from the AZ Blue Club at the Gila River Arena:
DAVID BENAVIDEZ
“I have had a tremendous training camp and everything has been perfect. The miles have been run, the rounds have been met and the weight has already been lost. I came extremely prepared for this fight. We both have a lot of knockouts, so I’m looking forward to giving the fans a war.”
“I really want to get in there and win this title. I have a lot of respect for Lemieux and have been watching him since he was young, but he has a lot to worry about with me. I’m faster and stronger, but he has the experience, so this is going to be a great fight.”
“I am 100% focused on Lemieux. I am focused on the task in front of me. I only take it one fight at a time. I like to put everything in the fight and find out the rest later. I know Lemieux is highly motivated for this fight, so my mind is 100% on him.”
“I can guarantee a big fight, a war, and someone will get knocked out. None of us wants to go to a decision. People are paying good money to see a knockout, and that’s what they’re going to get. I’m leaving with the title on Saturday night.”
“I haven’t seen my son for four months, so I’m happy to be here and close to him again. I locked myself in for training camp and now I’m excited to be here.”
“Lemieux has a great resume with a lot of knockouts and I feel like he is probably one of the most dangerous fighters I have ever faced. The only guys who are more dangerous than him haven’t stepped up and accepted the challenge.”
“I have given Lemieux the respect he deserves. I’m already in weight and I’ve done everything well in training. Now I’m ready to go in and get a big win.”
“I want the big names. I feel like I’ve earned it. I have been champion twice and now I am fighting for another belt. I have wanted to fight the other great fighters, but they have not accepted the challenge.
“I don’t want to act like I’m going to go in there and knock him out like it’s nothing. Sometimes fighters you don’t think will give you trouble end up giving you trouble. We have to see what happens, but I feel like I’ll get him out of there eventually.”
DAVID LEMIEUX
“When you want to become the world champion, you have to beat the best guy out there. At this moment, Benavídez stands in front of me. That’s what I have to beat to be the world champion. Everyone knows that Benavidez is a very good fighter, but I think people will see that I am a serious contender in the super middleweight division when I have that belt around me.”
“It’s a big challenge, but I’m confident. I had a tremendous training camp for this fight. We are physically and mentally prepared. Benavidez is a good fighter. It’s going to be a great show for fight fans because he doesn’t like to do rounds and I don’t like to do rounds. We’ll see what happens”.
“I don’t run from anyone. I have never avoided a y fight or any fighter. When I step into the ring, I’m the man to worry about. In this fight, there is a solid guy in front of me, but I am confident in my skills, my strength and my power. We had a tremendous training camp to prepare specifically for Benavídez. I am very confident in this approach. I have a lot of experience in the ring and I will bring it on Saturday night.”
“Yes, I still have enough left in the tank. Absolutely. I have been an underdog in the past and got the win. I know the difficulty that a fighter like David Benavídez poses and we came well prepared to make sure we are not surprised in the ring.”
“I have a lot of confidence in my team and my abilities and what I have to do to come out of here with that title. I have a lot of respect for David Benavidez. He is a great fighter. But the ring is the ring and I want to be champion.”
“Everything has changed in this camp. You change the mental as well as the physical when you fight a guy like David Benavidez. The guy is a thug and a brutal fighter. You change your work ethic at the gym. You hit harder. You are more vicious. Everything is ten times”.
“I bring power. Knockout power. I don’t care that he’s the so-called bogeyman of the division. He is the fighter in front of me and I am not afraid of anyone. I will fight anyone. I am not afraid of any man and on fight night, I am determined to become champion.”
“He is a guy who comes to fight. I’m a guy who comes to fight. So I can promise that the fans will have a great time.”
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