David Benavidez (left) is draped with belts after his ninth spherical knockout of Anthony Dirrell. (Photograph by Frank Micelotta/Fox Sports activities/PictureGroup)
A brand new opponent has been finalized for David Benavidez on November 13.
The unbeaten Benavidez, who’s ranked No. 1 at tremendous middleweight by The Ring, will face Kyrone Davis at Footprint Heart in Benavidez’s hometown of Phoenix, Arizona, Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) introduced Thursday afternoon. The ten-round bout will headline a three-bout Showtime telecast (10 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT).
The announcement got here on the identical day unique opponent Jose Uzcategui needed to withdraw from the combat after failing to go a pre-fight drug take a look at. ESPN and BoxingScene reported the banned substance Uzcategui for which he examined optimistic was recombinant erythropoietin (rEPO).
The conflict between Benavidez and Uzcategui was initially deliberate for August 28, additionally on the Footprint Heart, however was moved to November 13 after Benavidez examined optimistic for COVID-19.
Benavidez (24-0, 21 knockouts) most not too long ago fought on March 13, stopping once-beaten Ronald Ellis in Spherical 11. The combat occurred nearly seven months after Benavidez stopped Roamer Angulo after Spherical 10. Regardless of the one-sided beating he dished out, Benavidez misplaced the WBC title the day earlier than after weighing nearly three kilos above the 168-pound restrict.
The 24-year-old has been talked about as a potential opponent for the winner of the unification combat between The Ring Journal champion Canelo Alvarez and IBF titleholder Caleb Plant. Benavidez is the obligatory challenger for the WBC title Alvarez holds.
Davis (16-2-1, 6 KOs), who resides in Wilmington, Delaware, defeated Martez McGregor by unanimous resolution over eight hard-fought rounds in his most up-to-date bout on September 5. In his earlier combat on February 27, Davis fought to a controversial draw towards Anthony Dirrell.
The 26-year-old is unbeaten in his final 4 bouts after dropping by unanimous resolution to the late Patrick Day in March 2018.
Within the co-feature, Jose Benavidez, the older brother of David Benavidez, will sq. off towards Argentina’s Francisco Torres (17-3, 5 KOs) in a 10-round junior middleweight bout.
Benavidez (27-1, 18 KOs) has not fought since dropping by stoppage to WBO welterweight titleholder Terence Crawford in October 2018.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has lined boxing in Southern California and overseas since 2000. Francisco additionally covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He will be reached by e mail at [email protected] or on Twitter @FSalazarBoxing.
