Trainer Stephen Edwards says David Benavidez can hang with Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol and possibly beat them. Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) is now the WBC mandatory for undisputed light heavyweight champion Beterbiev’s WBC belt, and he could be fighting the winner of the Beterbiev-Bivol 2 rematch next.
Edwards feels that Benavidez can potentially beat Artur Beterbiev by focusing on his volume-punching and fighting on the inside, as he did to defeat WBA ‘regular’ 175-lb champion David Morrell (11-1, 9 KOs) by a 12-round unanimous decision last Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Morrell had problems with Benavidez’s high output and his inside fighting.
Beterbiev fights well on the inside, too, and is lethal with the short punches he throws. He has short arms, and he doesn’t have to load up to do damage in close. Benavidez would have to change that approach to give himself a chance of winning.
The Inside Game
“I think he’s right with both of them. I do,” said Stephen Edwards to MillCity Boxing about whether David Benavidez can hang with Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. “I think they present some problems for him, but I think he presents some problems for them.
“I’m going to say Russians because I know the country got broken up, but a lot of those guys from the area country [Eastern Europe], they don’t fight well on the inside. Obviously, Beterbiev punches so hard that he can knock Benavidez out. But Benavidez gets off so well in small spaces, that’ll throw Beterbiev off.
“Benavidez has got a good chin. I think he’s right with both of them, and he’s a lot younger than them. They’re all close fights. Listen, they [Beterbiev and Bivol] might take something out of each other when they fight again [on February 22nd]. I think they’re all tough fights, but because of his success in sparring [in 2016], and Bivol don’t fight on the inside.”
Artur Beterbiev is unlikely to be worn down from his rematch with Bivol because he’s facing a finesse-level fighter who isn’t a big puncher. Bivol will likely move a lot like last time due to the added pressure that Beterbiev will put him under in the rematch.
If Beterbiev is the guy that Benavidez fights next, it’s going to be hard for him to win without changing his style. He can’t get away with throwing combinations against Beterbiev without getting hurt, and then taken out. We don’t know how the damage that Benavidez took against Morrell will affect him in his next fight, as he was hurt several times in the fight.
“Beterbiev is a special fighter, but he’s methodical, and he resets himself. Benavidez gets off vicious combinations on the midrange and on the inside, where Beterbiev is trying to take you,” said Edwards.” I think it’s a tough fight for both guys. He could knock Benavidez out, or Benavidez could run off too many combinations for him.”
The best chance ‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez has of beating Artur is by outworking him with his volume punching, as he did against Morrell. It worked against him, but it was a costly fight due to the damage he took to the head.
Can Benavidez Adapt?
The question is, can Benavidez fight the same way against Beterbiev without getting knocked out? I don’t think he can. He’ll have to change, and if he fails to, Beterbiev will stop him just like he did with 20 of his first 21 opponents. The only reason Bivol survived is because he ran from the sixth round on.
“It could look a little bit like Meldrick Taylor and [Julio Cesar] Chavez, where Chavez was doing damage with his punches, but Meldrick was winning the rounds because he was letting his hands go, and Chavez was there to eat it,” said Stephen about the Beterbiev vs. Bivol fight.
“It could be like Canelo and GGG where Canelo is getting off in those tight spots where GGG is landing shots, but Canelo is [throwing rapid-fire combinations], getting off in tight spots. The judges might favor that. I don’t think he’s [Beterbiev] going to blow Benavidez out,” said Stephen.
