Current WBC light heavyweight world champion David Benavidez had an extremely short amateur career compared to the vast majority of successful professional boxers. However, “Bandera Roja” was able to build his foundations from a very young age by sparring with elite-level champions, including the extraordinary former Kazakh star Gennadiy Golovkin.
After defeating Anthony Yarde in a fight he dominated from start to finish, Benavidez wanted to pay tribute to his former sparring partner, thanking him for everything he learned during their gym sessions:
“I only had 15 amateur fights — my amateur career was sparring world champions. I give Gennadiy Golovkin all of the credit he deserves because he’s the reason why I am the fighter that I am today. When I was sparring him, those were real fights. He would push me to new levels, so I would have to find different ways to get out of the way because he was punching with everything. He made me learn more and raised my IQ, just by being in there with him. Hats off to Golovkin. He’s a great man and a great champion, inside and outside the ring. I owe him a lot. I learned a lot from him. I am the fighter I am today because of those sparring sessions.”
Benavidez, after moving up from super middleweight to light heavyweight, will soon make another jump in weight to challenge current WBA and WBO cruiserweight world champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez. The fight will take place on May 2 in Las Vegas and will be promoted by Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions.