David Benavidez

Photographer: Leigh Dawney

Name: David Benavidez
Alias: The Monster
Birth Name: Anthony David Benavidez
Hometown: Miami, Florida, USA
Birthplace: Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 184cm
Reach: 189cm
Pro Boxer: Record

• Trainer: Jose Benavidez Sr.
• Promoter: Sampson Lewkowicz

Amateur Career

• Amateur Record: 15-0-0.
• Benavidez had minimal amateur experience and there were two reasons for this. “My dad always trained me a professional style,” he explained. “Once you go into the amateurs, you pick up a lot of bad habits. You’re not really throwing your punches all the way. You kind of slap; that’s how we felt, so my my dad thought it would be a good idea to practice that pro style. Also, I was really heavy when I was younger - about 250 pounds, when I was 13, so it took me two years to lose the weight. That’s another reason why I didn’t really fight in the amateurs.” Benavidez didn’t fight in any tournaments but made up for that with sparring some of the best fighters in the world. [1]

Regional & Minor Titles

• NABF Junior light heavyweight title (April 2015; 0 defences)
• interim WBC World super middleweight title (May 2022; 2 defences)
• interim WBC World light heavyweight title (June 2024; 1 defence)
• Regular WBA World light heavyweight title

Professional Record

Championship Record

• 6-0-0 (4 KO's) in world championship bouts.
• 6-0-0 (4 KO's) against former or current world titlists (secondary belts excluded):
  • Won against Anthony Dirrell, David Lemieux, Caleb Plant, Demetrius Andrade, Oleksandr Gvozdyk & Gilberto Ramirez.

Variant Record

• Defeated 3 undefeated opponent with ten or more bouts: Francy Ntetu, Demetrius Andrade & David Morrell.

Notes

• Brother of Jose Benavidez.
• Benavidez became the youngest ever super middleweight world champion by defeating Ronald Gavril on September 8th, 2017.
• On September 17th 2018 Benavidez tested positive for cocaine in a VADA test. [2]

Preceded by: Badou Jack Vacated	WBC Super Middleweight Champion 2017 Sept 9 – 2019 Feb 24 Declared Champion in Recess	Succeeded by: Anthony Dirrell
Preceded by: Anthony Dirrell	WBC Super Middleweight Champion 2019 Sep 28 – 2020 Aug 14 Stripped	Succeeded by: Saul Alvarez
Preceded by: Dmitry Bivol	WBC Light Heavyweight Champion Elevated 2025 April 07 – present	Succeeded by: _
Preceded by: Gilberto Ramirez	WBO Cruiserweight Champion Super Champion 2026 May 05 – present	Succeeded by: _
Preceded by: Gilberto Ramirez	WBA Cruiserweight Champion 2026 May 05 – present	Succeeded by: _