Boxing
David Benavidez: I want to fight Demetrius Andrade
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David Benavidez believes that he can defeat Demetrius Andrade if the pair fight at 168lbs.
The 25-year-old American is first expected to fight David Lemieux in the coming months to contest the WBC super middleweight interim championship.
It remains to be seen if that fight goes ahead, which leaves open the idea of fighting WBO middleweight champion Andrade, who is expected to move up a weight class after failing to agree terms with any of the other 160lbs belt holders.
“He’s another great fighter,” Benavidez said, according to BoxingScene.com.
“If I can't get any other fights. He's expressed that he would like to fight me. I expressed that I would like to fight him. Why not make it happen?
"I want to challenge myself. I’m tired of talking s— and going back and forth with fighters that don’t want to fight. It's a waste of time. It's a waste of energy. If a fighter does want to fight, that's what I'm here for. I'm not here to be on social media talking s— to everybody.”
Benavidez won a WBC medal back in 2017 but lost his title when he tested positive for benzoylecgonine the following year. Benzoylecgonine is an ingredient in cocaine.
Benavidez won the title back against Anthony Dirrell in 2019, but again lost the belt when he failed to make weight in 2020 against Roamer Alexis Angulo.
"I feel like [Andrade] is still a sneaky fighter. He hasn't had to move around because he hasn't had a fighter push him. So I can't expect him to sit in there and brawl with me,” continued Benavidez.
"I feel confident I can win the fight. It will be a great fight. I'm here to make the fights the fans want to see … I’m not going to put my career on hold because these other guys don’t want to fight me.”
