The Boxingtalk Interview: Jose Benavidez, Sr.
Ivan Montiel: Showtime announced last week that David Benavidez (pictured) will face Jose Uzcategui in a WBC super middleweight eliminator on August 28th. We are excited to see your son David [the undefeated former WBC super middleweight champion] versus Uzcategui.
Jose Benavidez, Sr. [David's father and trainer]: We are excited. It’s going to be a tough fight man. Uzcategui is a former IBF champion, a really good person and a guy that works very hard. He needs this fight in order to get back on top, and we are getting ready.
IM: That’s right but before we get into it, I would like to congratulate you on David’s win over Ronald Ellis, a late-round TKO win just last month.
JB: Thank you man, Ellis was another great fighter who was hungry. He didn’t want to go down. He knew going in that he needed a win in order to get recognized. But thank God, we emerged victorious. We put a lot of hard work into that training camp. My respect to Ellis. He’s a great fighter, it sure was a tough fight.
IM: I hope Ellis is doing okay because David sure punished him.
JB: Yes, he did, Ellis didn’t want to quit, he came ready. To be honest with you I didn’t think Ellis was going to get stopped, going into that eight round I told David let’s take him out. He was very close but then Ellis recuperated and after that he looked fresh.
IM: David was looking to make a big statement and he made one.
JB: Yes, it’s like any other fight, against Uzcategui we have to work hard. We cannot underestimate him, he’s a very dangerous fighter. We have to make another statement, we have to look impressive in order to get to the next level.
IM: August 28th is the date you are fighting Uzcategui.
JB: August 28th, that’s right. We will be announcing the venue in a few weeks. We are exciting, we have been training, all of these fights are important to us. In order to get bigger fights, we must stay focused, dedicated and continue to shine. If that doesn’t happen big fights will not come.
IM: I am just thinking that Uzcategui has never been KO’d nor TKO’d. Is that your goal, to win by KO or TKO?
JB: The goal is to stop everyone. When you stop everyone, it’s more impressive. Uzcategui has never been stopped. I believe that Uzcategui will train like never before since this could very well be his last big opportunity. I believe that Uzcategui is focused and has something to prove, we also have something to prove. Both Uzcategui and David are going to go for that KO. I think it’s going to be a really good fight.
IM: Both fighters sure are exciting to watch. I also believe it’s going to be pure fireworks.
JB: I’ll tell you, someone is going down due to the style of both fighters. Both fighters go forward so we will see fireworks. This is a good fight for the both of us. Uzcategui struggled in his fight versus Lionell Thompson since Thompson kept moving. Thompson had good legs therefore Uzcategui struggled in that fight. It’s a perfect fight for the both of us due to our styles.
IM: Now before I forget I was listening in on Top Rank Boxing’s most recent press conference and when Edgar Berlanga was asked about David Benavidez, he said that he wouldn’t mind fighting your son in the future.
JB: I recall us talking about Berlanga in our last interview and yes, I think it’s a possible fight that could very well take place. We would love to fight Berlanga. He is looking good, he’s young, hungry, strong and has an impressive record. Berlanga is doing exactly what he’s supposed to be doing. I think within a matter of time it’s a fight that must get made. It’s a fight boxing fans want, and we are ready whenever he’s ready. He’s not ready but he’s working hard, and I am not taking anything away from Berlanga. He is a dangerous fighter, he’s getting bigger and better with experience which is why I think a fight against David would be a good fight for boxing fans.
IM: Now I know that you guys want a big fight versus WBA/WBC champion Canelo Alvarez yet it looks like it might not happen anytime soon. So if you guys can beat Uzcategui in tremendous fashion and Berlanga wins his next fight, a Benavidez-Berlanga should logically be next.
JB: Yes, I don’t worry much about Canelo, everyone wants to fight him. If a fight versus Canelo happens, it happens however we are not chasing him. We are keeping active, in the meantime we have no problem fighting Berlanga, Charlo whomever is put in front of us. We are just working only time will tell what fights happen in the future. Canelo as you know is currently concentrating on Billy Joe Saunders and then Caleb Plant. Maybe after those fights we can talk about it. At the moment, there’s no point in discussing a fight against Canelo. It’s like you just said, it’s not happening for the moment, so we just have to continue staying active, disciplined, working hard and only time will tell. If we continue to look good, I don’t see why not.
IM: I think that eventually you guys will get that Canelo fight because David keeps proving those boxing fans that don’t believe in him wrong.
JB: We must continue to win fights, stay focused, discipline that’s pretty much our plan. We have to show boxing fans where we are at, get better and when that time comes we will be ready.
IM: Has David already begun training camp for Uzcategui?
JB: Yes, we have been in training camp roughly 3 weeks, we are going slowly but surely every week we increase what we have to do.
IM: David fought not too long ago [March], so it looks like he wants to keep busy.
JB: Exactly. That’s our plan to stay active. We don’t want to take a break... PBC, Showtime Network and Al Haymon are doing a very great job keeping David active. We are extremely happy with the entire team and we must continue to stay focused.
IM: Now I know that team Benavidez doesn’t like to talk too much however do you by any chance have a prediction? Any message to send out to Uzcategui?
JB: At the end of the day talk is cheap. You have to show what you have inside that ring. Once again, we have to look impressive. Once again Uzcategui is a very good fighter, a former champion who’s never been stopped but once again we must make a big statement. We must stop him in 6 to 7 rounds in order to look better than Caleb Plant. Plant had a difficult fight against Uzcategui therefore we must look impressive. We don’t want to be criticized like we are not on the same level. We are going to work hard in order to give you guys a good fight. There’s no other way but to stop Uzcategui.
IM: I should also mention that I just realized that you guys have Ecuadorian blood just like my family does. Ecuador supports Benavidez. Mexicans support Benavidez but so does Ecuador.
JB: Shout out to Ecuador. Thanks to all the Ecuadorians their your support. We are very proud to represent Ecuador since David’s mom is from California, however her mom is from Quito, Ecuador. My sons have Mexican and Ecuadorean blood and even Dominican blood due to their grandfather. We are blessed to have all these nationalities. We are proud to represent all these Latin countries. We also appreciate the United States of America which has given us a lot. The United States of America is also in our hearts. We have a little thing of everything bro. (laughs)
IM: I sure am looking forward to this fight on August 28th versus Uzcategui.
JB: We have to represent bro. A shout out to all my Latinos. A shout out to all those warriors not just in Latin American but also in the USA. We Latinos can make something out of ourselves here in the United States of America, we just have to be focused. We are all one, we are here to represent. We must work hard to represent all of these countries man.
IM: Thanks once again, I am sure David will put on a great performance as always. I wish you guys all the best.
JB: Thanks again, we will give it everything so that you guys can enjoy it. Thanks to Boxing talk for your support and every boxing fan out there as well.
