Were you surprised that David Benavidez made weight for his fight Saturday? Benavidez wasn’t.
The former super middleweight champion lost his title and some respect on the scales before his defense against Roamer Alexis Angulo this past August at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn., coming in a whopping 2.75 pounds over the 168-pound limit.
The 24-year-old blamed difficult conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic for his misstep, at least part. However, in the end, he knew the main culprit was himself and took full responsibility.
He pulled out all stops to make sure the same thing didn’t happen for his title eliminator against Ronald Ellis on Saturday night at the same venue: He weighed in Friday at 167.25, as did Ellis.
What was different this time?
He trained at high altitude in secluded Big Bear, Calif. — about a 2½-hour drive from Los Angeles — for the first time since 2017, which allowed him to focus 100% on training. He watched his diet carefully. And, most important, he was motivated to get it right.
Benavidez (23-0, 20 KOs) said he weighed 168 pounds four days before the fight.
“There was more at stake at this point because the last time I didn’t make weight,” he said during the final news conference. “I had something to prove to myself and my fans. Also a big key to this training camp is [we] just had my son. Having him around and just being a father made me 10 times more motivated than I already was.
“I’m not only fighting for myself [now]. I’m fighting for my family, for my team, for my people, everybody who follows me and everybody who supports me.”
Benavidez trained in Big Bear in the past, the last time for his fight against Rogelio Medina in May 2017, but he’s now sold on the serene setting after spending three months there for the fight on Saturday.
The spartan conditions seem to be the main selling point.
“Every time I go to Big Bear it’s always one of the best training camps I’ve had,” said Benavidez, who is from Phoenix. “It’s just what goes into there. It’s so secluded up there. There’s only basically the grocery store, the gym and where we run.”
“… I’m definitely going to be going there every training camp I have. The place it takes me mentally and physically is just amazing. I [want] to give my fans 110 percent of myself every time I go in the fight and in training camp too.
“So that’s the decision I made with myself, my team, my dad. … It’s definitely going to help me be in this weight division for way longer.”
The fact he was on weight days before the fight would be unusual for most fighters, who generally taper down until the weigh-in. But that was his plan. He wasn’t taking any chances.
And, again, one key was what he put into his body – and what he didn’t.
“What I had going for me was I was very disciplined on the diet,” he said.” It’s not that I was starving myself the whole time. I was eating very good, fish, egg whites, salad, a lot of water. I didn’t drain myself at all. I probably overate in a lot of cases. I just wanted to get [to Connecticut] at lower weight and that’s exactly what we did. And now it’s paying off.
“I’ve never been this relaxed for a fight. I haven’t even trained this whole time since I’ve been here and I’m still under weight. It feels really good to relax and worry about the fight and not the weight.”
He went on: “I’m not even drained at all trying to make the weight. I’m happy, I’m enjoying every second of being in the bubble, unlike last time I was struggling to make weight. I’m in good spirits.”
Benavidez doesn’t seem to be overly concerned about the backward step he took before the Angulo fight, which he won by a 10th-round knockout. It was a learning experience, as was the loss of an earlier title for testing positive for cocaine.
He’s young, he pointed out several times. And he’s maturing as a person. His goals are simply to maintain his discipline and continue to win, which will eventually force the other top 168-pounders to fight him.
He’s the No. 1 contender for Canelo Alvarez’s WBC title but the Mexican star is focused on unifying titles. And Benavidez said he’d like to face middleweight champ Jermall Charlo this September, which he hopes would lead to a showdown with Alvarez.
No matter what happens, he plans to remain patient.
“I feel everything is working out on my end because I got time on my side,” he said. “I just turned 24 years old. I think the time is running out for these other fighters. I’m the youngest ex-champion in this game, in the super middleweight division. Time is on my side. I have at least 12 years left in this game.
“If they take a fight with me now or later, doesn’t really matter. I’m just going to be ready for whenever the opportunity comes.”
Of course, he must beat Ellis first.
“Things happen,” he said, referring to the weight issue. “It’s just how you come back from your mistakes and how you rebound. I feel like I’ve put all the work in for this camp. I’ve rebounded amazingly.
“Now it’s just time to perform on Saturday and show the fans what I’m really made of.”
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