David Benavidez left last night’s fight with Kyrone Davis, feeling he had done enough to earn a spot in the ring with undisputed division champ Canelo Alvarez. But Davis, who took the fight on short notice as a replacement for Jose Uzcategui, proved to be one of the toughest men in boxing.
Benavidez had trouble finding the range against Davis over the first two rounds. Davis moved well and was able to counter Benavidez when the hometown hero pressed the attack. But by the third round, the taller Benavidez began finding his mark.
Late in the fourth round, Benavidez landed a flurry of punches that seemed to shake his opponent. But Davis returned fire with hard punches of his own. Benavidez dominated most of the fifth-round action and unleashed vicious combinations whenever he could pin Davis against the ropes.
Kyrone Davis’ corner warned him that they would stop the fight if the onslaught continued. Benavidez poured it on but could not break Davis’ spirit. The battering continued into the seventh round, and Davis’ corner finally threw in the towel.
David Benavidez Wants Canelo Fight
David Benavidez did not need much time after the fight before alerting the boxing world to what he wanted next. “Everybody wants to see me against Canelo,” Benavidez explains. “I’ll go through whoever they want me to go through.”
“I feel like I have the best shot,” Benavidez analyzes the potential matchup between himself and the pound-for-pound king. “I have longer arms, probably faster, and as much power.” Benavidez added, “I’m just hungry for the opportunity.”
Benavidez fought before his hometown fans in Phoenix, Arizona, for the first time in 15 fights. Since his 10th fight, he earned a share of the super middleweight championship on two different occasions. The victory against Davis improves Benavidez’s record to 25-0 with 22 knockouts.
Kyrone Davis suffered his third defeat in 20 fights. He also battled former champion Andre Dirrell to a draw earlier in 2021.