Benavidez: 'This is for the fans'; embraces Davis-Martin co-star role
Moving up to light heavyweight to fight Gvozdyk for WBC interim title but still has designs on Canelo and Beterbiev-Bivol winner
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LAS VEGAS — In 2023, David Benavidez made the jump to pay-per-view headliner and topped two successful events as he moved toward greater stardom.
In March, he retained the WBC interim super middleweight title in an action-packed but ultimately one-sided decision over former titleholder Caleb Plant and followed in November with a defense against former two-division titlist and then-undefeated Demetrius Andrade, whom he thrashed in a sixth-round knockout.
With a growing fan base, solid pay-per-view results, a penchant for action fights and an outgoing personality, Benavidez seemed poised for a series of PPV main events.
But when Benavidez returns to action in a move up in weight to fight Oleksandr Gvozdyk for the vacant WBC interim light heavyweight title on Saturday (Prime Video PPV, PPV.com, 8 p.m. ET) on the Premier Boxing Champions card that will be the milestone 100th boxing event inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena he is not the headliner.
Benavidez will instead fight former lineal/WBC champion Gvozdyk in the co-feature of Gervonta “Tank” Davis’ WBA lightweight title defense against Frank Martin and he is not at all unhappy about it.
Most elite fighters, especially those coming off back-to-back PPV main events, would let ego get in the way and not accept fighting in a co-feature. Benavidez, however, has embraced his position.
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