By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten former WBC Super Middleweight Champion David Benavidez will be taking on Kyrone Davis of Monmouth County, New Jersey in Benavidez’s home town of Phoenix, Arizona this Saturday, November 13th. The 12-round super middleweight bout can be seen live in America on Showtime while fans in Canada can catch it on TSN 3. Benavidez last fought in March when he stopped Ronald Ellis in the 11th round while Davis beat Martez McGregor via an eight-round unanimous decision in his last outing in September.
The 24-year-old Benavidez won the vacant WBC Middleweight belt in September, 2017 with a split decision over Ronald Gavril even though he was dropped in the 12th round. He then beat Gavril by unanimous decision in a rematch five months later. He sat out for a year after testing positive for cocaine and returned in March, 2019 with a second-round stoppage of J’Leon Love.
Benavidez then regained the title by stopping Anthony Dirrell in the ninth round in September, 2019. He lost it again though, this time on the weigh scale in August, 2020 against Roamer Alexis Angulo when he came in 2.8 lbs overweight. However, he still took care of Angulo after 10 rounds though and is now hoping to land another title shot against Canelo Alvarez, who recently became the undisputed king of the 168-lb division.
Benavidez is a hard-hitter who turned pro in 2013 after a short 15-0 amateur career. He’s boxed 108 rounds since and won the vacant NABF Junior Light Heavyweight Title in April, 2015 with a first-round TKO of Rollin Williams. He enters the match with a perfect record of 24-0 with 21 Kos and owns quite a bit of power with a current knockout ratio of 87.5 per cent, but Gavril took him the distance in both of their fights.
Benavidez likes to slug it out and that means he’s not really the hardest guy to hit, but he has a decent chin even though Gavril decked him. Benavidez is just over 6-feet-tall with a reach of 74.5 inches. His biggest wins so far have been over Ellis, Angulo, Dirrell, Love, Gavril, Rogelio (Porky) Medina, and Denis Douglin.
Kyrone Davis is 26 years old and best known for his 12-round draw against Anthony Dirrell back in February. He climbs into the ring with a mark of 16-2-1 with 6 Kos. He made his pro debut in 2014 and has also fought 108 rounds since. He stands 5-feet-10-inches tall with a 73-inch reach which puts him 2.5-inches shorter than Benavidez with a 1.5-inch reach disadvantage. Davis doesn’t carry much power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 31.6 per cent.
He enjoyed a fine amateur career as he won the National PAL Boxing Championships and placed second at the 2013 National Golden Gloves in Salt Lake City. He boxed in the2012 U.S. Olympic Trials in Colorado Springs and was a two-time Pennsylvania State Golden Gloves Champion, and a two-time PA Jr. Golden Gloves Champion. He also won a bronze medal at the USA Boxing Tournament to earn a spot as an alternate on the 2013 USA Boxing Team.
As a pro, Davis was beaten by Junior Castillo via an eight-round unanimous decision in 2016 and dropped a 10-round unanimous decision to Patrick Day in 2018 for the WBC Continental Americas Super Welterweight Title. He’s stepping up in class again against Benavidez as his list of opponents so far includes Jaime Barboza, Alex Gaytan, Mark Anthony Hernandez and Gabriel Ozan.
Prediction…
Benavidez has done well inside of the ring but is sometimes undisciplined outside of it. He appeared to be an excellent prospect mainly because of his power and age while his boxing skills should develop with experience. Davis doesn’t have the power to keep Benavidez off of him and I think he’ll eventually be broken down. Benavidez is an entertaining boxer and should eventually catch Davis sooner or later. as long as he’s not careless.
