GLENDALE — David Benavidez returned to his hometown and took treatment of business enterprise quickly, the two time former tremendous middleweight winner flooring best contender David Lemieux twice in the initially two rounds to capture the interim WBC planet tremendous middleweight championship Saturday night on Showtime from Gila River Arena.
Benavidez, now primarily based out of Seattle, is however beloved in higher Phoenix, exactly where he was born and elevated, and the 25-year-previous star gave his admirers the present they wanted to see. He wobbled Lemieux, a former middleweight winner himself, with a still left hook in the very first spherical. Then he unleased a flurry of punches with Lemieux ducking for cover, saved only by the end of the very first spherical bell.
In the next spherical, Benavidez despatched Lemieux via the ropes with a different left, and the crowd roared, owning currently risen to its toes anticipating an exciting complete. Lemieux’s corner named for a struggle stoppage that came at 1 moment, 31 seconds of the 3rd round.
“What definitely would make me joyful and motivates me a good deal is I can deliver 10,000 individuals into this stadium and they all arrived to see me,” Benavidez claimed. “They all remaining thrilled and joyful. I’m ready to give the enthusiasts the fights they want to see and the action that they want to see.”
Benavidez enhanced to 26- with 23 knockouts, and it looks only a make a difference of time before an even even bigger fight arrives his way. Lemieux is 43-5.
Nicknamed “El Bandera Roja,” his father José coined yet another nickname for Benavidez — The Mexican Monster. Promoter Sampson Lewkowicz mentioned Benavidez, who became just the fourth man in tremendous middleweight heritage to grow to be a three-time entire world winner, has 3 alternatives for his future fight in November.
They are David Morrell, Caleb Plant or Jermell Charlo, all prime contenders in the division. A combat with Canelo Alvarez, who vacated the title, is not likely to take place for the foreseeable upcoming, Lewkowicz reported.
“I am ready for all these leading guys to deliver me the agreement. They know what is up. I”m proper here waiting for them. I will place myself up from absolutely everyone. I assurance I am knocking absolutely everyone out,” Benavidez stated.
“Right after the very first round I was Okay, he experienced gotten me with some good pictures” Lemieux claimed. “I tried to arrive again, but he is a very great fighter.”
The major Showtime broadcast card commenced with a featherweight slugfest between Luis Nuñez of the Dominican Republic and Jonathan Fierro of Mexico, with Nuñez offering most of the electric power punches. 1 physique shot lifted Fierro off the ring canvas.
But the earlier 13- Fierro, only 18 a long time outdated, returned fireplace and took some major photographs, long lasting all 10 rounds. He just couldn’t match Nuñez’s hand pace and power consistently, and Nuñez (17-) gained the battle on a unanimous decision even though all scorecards have been near.
The co-principal occasion concerning super welterweights Yoelvis Gomez of Cuba and Jorge Cota of Mexico featured the knockout electricity of the 24-calendar year-outdated Gomez and the experience of the 34-calendar year-outdated Cota, who’d fought some large names in his division.
The first spherical finished with the two fighters nonetheless throwing punches immediately after the bell. In the 3rd spherical, Gomez rocked Cota, then tossed Cota to the ring flooring, prompting a warning and derisive chants from the crowd.
It was very clear Gomez was the a lot more bodily strong fighter, forcing Cota into the corners and ropes multiple occasions. As the third round ended, Cota unintentionally punched the referee in the confront trying to get Gomez off of him.
In the seventh spherical, Cota, well guiding on the scorecards, beckoned Gomez to arrive and combat him in 1 corner. Gomez smiled and laughed in the ring quite a few instances, apparently self-assured in his control of the bout.
Gomez staggered an exhausted and battered Cota (30-6) a person extra time with a proper hand in the 10th and very last spherical, and came away with a unanimous determination to increase to 6- as a experienced. All scorecards had him successful 100-90.
The evening was also highlighted by a battle that includes previous WBC welterweight champion “Vicious” Victor Ortiz, now 35 and trying to continue on his comeback. Ortiz has not rather been the identical fighter he was given that the notorious “Shield yourself at all occasions” incident with Floyd Mayweather Jr., in which he was knocked out by the longtime champion soon after striving to embrace Mayweather and dropping his hands at one particular stage in the 2017 fight.
But Ortiz did most of the harm from journeyman Todd Manuel, despite getting knocked down with a couple of seconds remaining in the 10th and remaining round. Even now he received a unanimous decision to enhance to 33-7-3.
“This time I was in form. I have cobwebs to shake off,” Ortiz mentioned. “We’re at about 80, 75-ish per cent. If you never to have a swollen confront or a busted lip or anything, go enjoy basketball or some soccer.”
The to start with four fights of the night were more than in about 40 minutes blended, like Mesa’s Micky Scala building quick perform of Mike Plazola in a tremendous welterweight bout. The contest lasted just above 90 seconds with Scala scoring the a few knockdowns he desired for a stoppage of the struggle.
“I wanted to go to the body early,” Scala said. “I caught him with a superior appropriate hand to the system and sat him down. I remained sensible and acquired him out of there.”
Middleweight Elijah Garcia, who lives in Avondale, scored with hooks and jabs to the head of opponent Rowdy Montgomery, and in the 3rd spherical connected with a tricky shot that despatched Montgomery to a knee. Moments later, Garcia bought his opponent on the ropes and scored a second knockdown.
Garcia, exhibiting some vicious punching electricity, took a shot just prior to the conclude of the round, but it failed to appear to be to faze him significantly. Totally keen to stand in and trade blows from in close, Garcia took additional photographs to his confront in the sixth spherical as the two fighters appeared fatigued in the remaining round, but Garcia experienced adequate points from the 3 judges for a unanimous decision victory.
“Great factor for me. Perhaps we go 8 (rounds) upcoming time,” Garcia stated.
Garcia reported it will be his previous time preventing at middleweight as he seems to be to move up a excess weight class. He programs to struggle once again in June or July.
Jesús Abel Ibarra, who trains in Mesa with Scala, scored a to start with-round TKO of Ernesto Guerrero of Mexico and improved to 14- with seven knockouts. The super featherweight is seeking to indicator with a promotion, as is Garcia.
“We are completely ready to choose that next step and start out getting some rankings and stuff. That is the strategy. Just bought to prepare really hard and have faith in in God,” Ibarra mentioned.
Get in contact with Jose Romero at [email protected]. Find him on Twitter at @RomeroJoseM.
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