DAZN Boxing<\/a> at today\u2019s Grand Arrivals in Riyadh.<\/p>\nThis is Benavidez\u2019s \u201ceasiest weight\u201d cut? What am I hearing? That says a lot about how much he was cutting down when he was fighting at super middleweight, and looking enormous when he\u2019d enter the ring. When you\u2019re bigger than your opponents, it gives a big advantage.<\/p>\n
Gvozdyk & Morrell Remind Us of Reality<\/p>\n
It\u2019s worth noting that Benavidez\u2019s knockouts have dried up since he moved up to 175. Despite still looking bigger than his opponents in this weight class, he\u2019s not gotten close to hurting the two fighters he\u2019s fought at light heavyweight, Oleksandr Gvozdyk and David Morrell. Indeed, it was them who hurt Benavidez.<\/p>\n
Benavidez Claims Power Still Carries Up<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that\u2019s not true because in the fight against Gvozdyk, I hurt him. In the fight against Morrell, I hurt him,\u201d said Benavidez when asked about his reaction to the critics who have said that his power hasn\u2019t carried up from 168 to 175.<\/p>\n
I watched the Benavidez vs. Gvozdyk fight three times, and there was never a sign of Oleksandr being hurt. The one who got hurt in that fight was Benavidez in the 11th round when Gvozdyk hit him in the breadbasket with a hard shot. Benavidez\u2019s offense was shut down for a full minute while he recovered. If his power didn\u2019t hurt Morrell or Gvozdyk, what happens when Yarde walks him down? He\u2019s not going to have the pop in his punches to fight Yarde off. Benavidez will have to depend on his ability to absorb punishment. Against Morrell, he looked all beaten up afterward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I\u2019ve done for this camp, I\u2019ve gone back to the basics, using footwork, using distance, using head movement,\u201d said Benavidez. \u201cWe\u2019re going to have to set up traps. These are the bigger guys. So, me walking them down isn\u2019t going to work like how I did it at 168.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Moment He Gets Hit\u2026<\/p>\n
Benavidez is such a hot-head that it\u2019s impossible to believe he won\u2019t fight the way he always does by going on the attack as soon as he gets hit. He\u2019s one of those fighters who fights on emotion. Benavidez is too trigger-happy for his own good.<\/p>\n
He gets a look on his face when he\u2019s nailed, and immediately fires back with combinations. It\u2019s the way Benavidez is, and it\u2019s why he\u2019s taken so much punishment against Morrell and Gvozdyk. Can a fighter who loses his mind when hit really stick to a \u2018Game plan\u2019? It\u2019s not realistic. He says he\u2019s going to fight at a distance and use his footwork, but as soon as Yarse nails him with a good shot, he\u2019s going to revert to his old self.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, me saying my power didn\u2019t carry, I know for a fact I can hurt these guys. Now, I need to follow the game plan, work behind the jab. I see myself having opportunities to hurt Anthony Yarde. I just have to follow the game plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cruiserweight Move Becoming Inevitable<\/p>\n
If Benavidez hasn\u2019t hurt his last two opponents at 175, it\u2019s hard to believe he\u2019ll start showing power now. His depleted, painfully thin appearance today suggests he could be weak and drained on Saturday, fighting on empty.<\/p>\n
If he loses to Yarde, he\u2019ll have a good excuse to tell the fans. It would be smart for Benavidez to move up to cruiserweight at that point rather than staying at 175 to continue putting his body through the wringer, making weight.<\/p>\n
Robert Segal has been a key voice at Boxing News 24, delivering fight news, previews, and analysis with a direct, insider edge. Covering the sport for over a decade, his work highlights champions, contenders, and rising talent worldwide. Known for his sharp ringside perspective, Robert brings fans closer to the action with straightforward, knowledgeable reporting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A visibly thinned-out David Benavidez said today at the Grand Arrivals that he has three more pounds to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":271371,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-271370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271370"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271370\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/271371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=271370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=271370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}