British boxer, Carl Froch, provided an unlikely inspiration to a much younger David Benavidez during the tail-end of the Cobra’s Hall-of-Fame career.
The 48-year-old fought for the final time in 2014 when he finished English rival, George Groves, in the eighth-round of a firefight in front of 80,000 raucous fans at Wembley Stadium in London, England, which rejuvenated a phenomenon of filling the biggest venues for box office fights in his country.
Watching in the United States was a 17-year-old Benavidez, a fighter with aspirations to become a face for the sport, fascinated with the grip that boxers like Froch had on his people.
“I want to be a worldwide fighter,” he told Boxing Social ahead of his return to the ring Saturday, when he headlines a Cinco de Mayo card May 2, as he challenges Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez atop a Premier Boxing Champions event on Prime Video pay-per-view.
Already a pound-for-pound sensation, ‘El Monstro’ has proven to be one of American boxing’s most important athletes as he is a proven attraction in Las Vegas, is capable of selling out shows in Phoenix or Miami, and has fought in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, too.
Already a pound-for-pound sensation, ‘El Monstro’ has proven to be one of American boxing’s most important athletes as he is a proven attraction in Las Vegas, is capable of selling out shows in Phoenix or Miami, and has fought in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, too.
And, though he returns to the Fight Capital of the World this weekend, he remains interested in returning to Riyadh, and competing in Britain, too — and that’s all because of Froch.
“My style is naturally universally-loved because who doesn’t love seeing a fighter get hit, who still gets the knockout?
“I would love to fight in Miami, go back to Saudi Arabia. Shout out to the people there. I didn’t leave the freaking arena, until like 8 a.m., and I still had fans waiting to take pictures. I appreciate all the love. I would love to fight there again in the future.”
On Britain, specifically, he said:
“That’s my dream — to headline the 02 Arena or Wembley.”
— David Benavidez is keen to conquer England
“Seeing Carl Froch fight George Groves, and they had 80,000 fans at Wembley,” he said. “I’ve always had that in my head. I want to make it happen one day.”
Through super middleweight to cruiserweight there are, perhaps, a handful of fighters who could make that happen for Benavidez in the near future — from Hamzah Sheeraz and Ben Whittaker, to Chris Billam-Smith and, even, Anthony Joshua.
First, he must do what he has done throughout his career: win, and in style; against the unified cruiserweight champion ‘Zurdo.’
