David Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) battled through an injured hand and cut eye in his 12-round unanimous decision victory over Oleksandr Gvozdyk (20-2, 16 KOs) on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Premier Boxing Champions)
Gritty Win Considering Pre-existing Injuries
Benavidez fought back from injury to capture the WBC interim light heavyweight title by scores of 117-110, 119-109, and 116-112. He says the injury happened in training camp, but he stuck with it, went into the competition and came out victorious. The fight looked close enough to score a draw, but the judges scored Benavidez on split scores.
People who bet money on Benavidez to knock out Gvozdyk may not be happy to find out he's fighting injured because it would have been better if he postponed the fight or disclosed his physical issues early on.
It wasn't the type of match that boxing fans are used to seeing from Benavidez because he didn't look like he was going to beat a boxer who was well-marked early on and didn't look like a knockout threat. This guy would dominate if he was healthy.
Injury and the decision to fight
“Of course I was worried about it. I started the camp a month and a half ago. I tore a muscle. They told me it wouldn't heal in time. They told him he needed at least three months. I said, 'I don't care. I will continue to fight. I'm going to keep training,'” Benavidez told the media at the post-fight press conference, referring to the hamstring injury and cuts that occurred in training camp for his fight with Oleksandr Gvozdyk.
“Then I hurt this hand [left], and they told me, 'You have to take a break,' and I said, 'No, that's not going to happen. I will continue to fight.' Three weeks ago, I was sparring, dominating three different partners, and in the last round, I got cut. That worried me a lot.
“I didn't think I would succeed here, but my father told me, 'The square is not very big; we can continue.' I put my faith in God because I wanted to enter this battle. I didn't want to miss this event. I didn't want the fans to miss out because this was a big moment for the fans.
“This was the biggest event at PBC this whole year. I said, 'F*** it, I'm going to continue training.' I got to this fight, I came out injured but I ended up winning,” said Benavidez.
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