David Benavidez may have often made headlines for his setbacks outside the ring, but he is nevertheless an extremely talented athlete who will cross swords with David Lemieux on May 21 in Glendale, Arizona, for the interim weight title. WBC super middleweight.
“He is a boxer that I find extremely good. He is young, fast, technical and he has guts. He is also capable of taking pressure and a punch,” analyzed the coach of the Quebec pugilist, Marc Ramsay, at RDS.cain the hours following the official announcement of the shock.
“Everyone has witnessed his problems and I don’t know where he is in his life, but it’s not particularly important for us. This is an opportunity for David to fight a big fight and that’s exactly where he is in his career. »
Becoming the youngest champion in super middleweight history on September 8, 2017 at the age of only 20, Benavidez (25-0, 22 KOs) quickly found himself at the heart of some controversy. First because of a contract dispute with his promoter Sampson Lewkowicz – he was forced to repay Top Rank a signing bonus worth US$250,000 – but more because of a positive test. to cocaine in September 2018.
After becoming champion again following his victory over Anthony Dirrell in August 2019, he lost his belt on the scales on the eve of his first defense against Roamer Alexis Angulo in August 2020. Even so, the American network Showtime does not never abandoned him and his name has often been associated with those of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Caleb Plant lately.
On the other hand, Lemieux’s career (43-4, 36 KOs) has not been as incredible, but is far from having been as exciting as in a time not so far away. Moved to super middleweight before the start of the pandemic, he barely defeated Maksym Bursak by split decision of the judges before settling for duels against Francy Ntetu and David Zegarra.
“You have to remember that about 80 percent of boxers haven’t boxed during the pandemic,” Ramsay said. We managed to keep David motivated by explaining to him everything that was happening behind the scenes, that it was important that he stay active. He understood very well.
“His first outing at super middleweight wasn’t perfect, but he was able to make the weight, which is a first step! And he also finished the fight strong, having been knocked out in the first and fifth rounds. He showed a good level of energy.
“Looking back, it was a good decision. Anyway, he didn’t really have a choice…”
Even though his last fight dates back to June 2021, Lemieux has been active in the gym for many months already and his specific preparation for his duel against Benavidez began ten days ago. The challenge will be daunting – literally and figuratively – given that the Quebecer is neglected up to 9-against-1 at the time of this writing.
“David only took two or three weeks off after his last fight,” Ramsay said. As soon as things became clearer [au sujet de Benadivez]we started pitting him against 6-foot-1 guys who have great reach in the gym.
“His experience will help him not only in the fight, but in the approach to it. Already, we have received an impressive number of media requests to talk about it…
“There is a lot of pressure that comes with this kind of fight. Fortunately, David has already fought on the biggest stages in New York and Vegas. He walked around the garden a few times. »
But at 33, Lemieux knows full well that this is the kind of opportunity he couldn’t pass up.
