By I an S Palmer
Former unbeaten WBC Super Middleweight Champion David Benavidez of Phoenix, Arizona will be taking on J’Leon Love of Detroit, Michigan in Arlington, Texas this Saturday, March 16th. The 10-round bout is on the undercard of the Errol Spence vs Mikey Garcia fight and is live in the USA on Fox pay per view and on ITV 4 in the UK. Benavidez last fought in February, 2018 when he beat Ronald Gavril by unanimous decision in a rematch. Benavidez was dropped in the 12th round five months earlier but still won a split decision to take the vacant title. He’s been out of action for a year after testing positive for cocaine. Love’s last outing was a 10-round unanimous decision loss at the hands of former world champion Peter Quillin.
Benavidez is a hard-hitting 22 year old who turned pro back in 2013 after a short amateur career which saw him go 15-0. He’s boxed 76 rounds as a pro and won the vacant NABF Junior Light Heavyweight Title in April of 2015 with a first-round TKO of Rollin Williams. He enters the match with a perfect record of 20-0 along with 17 Kos. He’s got a lot of power as his record shows with a current knockout ratio of 85 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 in the 12th round of their first fight. Benavidez is just over 6-feet-1-inch tall with a reach of 77 inches. His biggest wins so far have been over Gavril, Rogelio (Porky) Medina, and Denis Douglin. He’s an excellent prospect at his age mainly because of his power, but could be a force to reckon with as his boxing skills develop with experience.
The 31-year-old J’Leon Love hails from Detroit and fights out of Las Vegas. He’s been beaten just twice in his pro career with a record of 24-2-1 with 13 Kos. His first defeat was a third-round knockout at the hands of Rogelio Medina in August of 2014. A few months before that fight, Love took on Marco Antonio Periban and was dropped in the sixth round before taking a unanimous decision, so his chin may also be considered somewhat questionable. Love is 6-feet tall with a 75.5-inch reach so gives up an inch in height and 1.5 inches in reach to Benavidez.
Love turned pro back in 2010 and has fought 166 rounds since then with a current knockout ratio of 46 per cent. He’s faced the likes of Derrick Findley and Gabriel Rosado. In fact, Love was decked in the sixth round against Rosado in May of 2013 and was originally awarded with a split decision victory after 10 rounds. However, that was overturned when he tested positive for a banned diuretic after the contest. His lone draw was an eight-round technical affair against Abraham Han in September, 2017.
Prediction…
Love is a solid pro, but he isn’t regarded as a consistent top contender. He doesn’t hit as hard as Benavidez and that will be a big factor here. Hopefully Benavidez has matured after testing positive for cocaine and is ready to resume his career with better discipline. If he is, he should be able to leave the ring still unbeaten against Love.
