Former HBO analyst Jim Lampley says David Benavidez is set to face WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol based on his fight last Saturday against Oleksandr Gvozdyk in Las Vegas.
(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Premier Boxing Champions)
Limited options for Benavidez
Lampley feels that Benavidez has limited options after his fight with former WBC light heavyweight champion Gvozdyk (20-2, 16 KOs). He notes that Benavidez's strength wasn't as strong at 175 as it had been at 168, and he was out in the second half of the contest.
Benavidez still emerged victorious, winning a 12-round unanimous decision by scores of 116-112, 117-111, and 119-109.
Benavidez's performance has not matched the judges' results, and few people believe he has a chance to beat Bivol or IBF/WBC/WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev.
Benavidez's chances against Bivol and Beterbiev
Lampley said he won't even mention Beterbiev, which means he doesn't see Benavidez having a chance to beat him. That's how fans are looking at it after watching how ineffective Benavidez looked against the 37-year-old Gvozdyk, a fighter Beterbiev knocked out five years ago and sent to retirement.
“I think if Benavidez doesn't get the fight against Canelo, he's down to Dmitry Bivol, and we won't be talking about Beterbiev,” analyst Jim Lampley told Sean Zittel, discussing David Benavidez's chances against the WBA lightweight. heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol after his lackluster performance in his debut at 175 against former WBC champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk last Saturday night.
Canelo Alvarez: A Potential Opportunity?
“David Benavidez's options are limited from what we've seen. He has to hope that Canelo Alvarez will change his mind and decide to fight him. Maybe he'll like what he saw from the 168-lb fighter who moved up to 175 and didn't have as much pop as many people expected, myself included. “
I don't think Canelo is going to change his mind about wanting $200 million to fight Benavidez because he has talked so much trash about him over the past few years.
Canelo won't get credit for beating Benavidez now because fans have seen how poor he is compared to Gvozyk, and many of them are now looking at him as a hype job building his resume against carefully selected opponents.
“I predicted that Benavidez would get hit, and in the first rounds, I thought that's what I was going to see. [against Gvozdyk]then he seemed to fade a little when he was faced with a seasoned veteran who has a lot to fight for,” said Lampley.
Former HBO play-by-play host Lampley should have known better than to pick Benavidez to take out Gvozdyk because that wasn't going to happen.
Benavidez is a volume puncher, and there was no way he could get away with that kind of fight against Gvozdyk, whose technical ability and power were ready for him to set up shop in front of him, throwing non-stop punches the way he could. made on 168 against little opposition.
“Perhaps seven kilos made a difference in how hard David's punches were, he had to weather a temporary storm and come away with a decision to win,” said Lampley.
“I think he's delayed enough in the second half of the fight that Canelo will want to check the money and see if it's worth it for him to come in and take whatever risk there is in fighting David Benavidez.”
Benavidez started to slow down after the fourth round last Saturday night and looked tired and weak. His power wasn't there from the first round, but that wasn't surprising because Benavidez has never been a puncher at 168. His knockouts come mostly from his volume hitting, hitting opponents with a flurry of shots.
“Perhaps after looking at him, you will think, 'There is no danger at all. I'm Canelo Alvarez. I have the most proven punch resistance in the sport. He won't hurt me,” said Lampley.
“I think there is a chance for Canelo to think about that based on what he sees. Is Canelo a bigger puncher than Oleksandr Gvozdyk? I think it's him. There's a lot of ways for Canelo to look at this and think, 'I'm better than David Benavidez,'” Lampley said.
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