David Benavidez has lost the WBC super middleweight title two times without ever losing a fight, and the last time it was because he didn’t make weight for a defense in 2020.
Benavidez (25-0, 22 KO) will fight David Lemieux (43-4, 36 KO) for the interim WBC belt on Saturday, and says he’s already on weight, if you were worried about that, and looking forward to a big performance in front of his home fans in Arizona.
Here’s what David and father/trainer Jose Sr said at Wednesday’s media workout.
David Benavidez
“I definitely want to go out there and follow my gameplan. I don’t care [if the KO] comes in the first, second, fifth or 12th round. When it comes, it comes. I visualize everything I’m going to do in the ring.
“I just hit the weight yesterday and now everything is amazing. We took that stress off the table after four months of hard work. Now, I’m excited to go out there, fight for the title and give the fans a great fight.
“It makes me happy to be able to inspire kids and to see the smiles on the faces of the people in my city. It’s inspiring to have them come out and support me the way that they do.
“It means the world to me to be here in my hometown with my family – both my son and my dad. Now I know what my dad meant when he said that once you have a child, your life changes. My son Anthony is 18 months and he’s given me so much motivation to be the best version of myself. I have a newfound focus and I’m ready to conquer the division.”
Jose Benavidez Sr, trainer
“I ran this gym for five years, and we never thought that we would get to where we are right now. My heart beats with pride seeing David be embraced like this. This is just the beginning though.
“I never thought I would be a boxing trainer. I just wanted to help my son achieve his goals. Now we are here and very thankful for everything we have been given.
“We are very focused on a hard-hitting opponent in Lemieux. It’s going to be a spectacular fight and we are not about to look any farther than that.”
Listen to our Benavidez-Lemieux preview and more on the newest Prophets of Goom podcast!
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