David Benavidez will now face Kyrone Davis on November 13 at Phoenix, Arizona’s Footprint Center. Benavidez found himself in need of a replacement opponent after Jose Uzcategui tested positive for a banned substance.
Benavidez is 24-O with 21 knockouts as a professional fighter. The 24-year-old earned the distinction as the youngest champion in super middleweight history when he defeated Ronald Gavril for the WBC title in 2017. The young champion later lost his crown after testing positive for cocaine.
David Benavidez Seeks Bigger Opportunities
Jose Uzcategui is also a former super middleweight titleholder. The Benavidez-Uzcategui clash would have taken place a week after Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant face-off for the undisputed division championship. Benavidez planned to position himself for a boxing match with the winner with a strong performance against Uzcategui.
David Benavidez will have the same goal when stepping into the ring with Davis. The problem is he now needs to impress the boxing world against a lesser-regarded opponent.
Kyrone Davis comes into the fight with Benavidez with a boxing record of 16-2-1. Davis has knocked out six opponents.
Kyrone Davis earned a unanimous decision victory over Martez McGregor in September. Davis’ most notable “victory” is a split decision draw with Anthony Dirrell in February. But Dirrell was 37 years old at the time of the fight and fought nothing as he did in his prime.
Jose Uzcategui tested positive for a synthetic drug known as rEPO. The drug increases the supply of oxygen available to athletes to improve endurance. A VADA test uncovered the presence of the drug in an A-sample taken from Uzcategui. The B-sample test is pending, but the PBC decided to pull Uzcategui from the fight with Benavidez after the A-sample results became available.
Victor Conte founded both Balco and SNAC nutrition. “EPO is possibly the most powerful PED used by a boxer,” Conte explains. “Some have described the benefits to making an athlete like a machine.”