David Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) won a tougher than expected twelve round unanimous decision over Oleksandr Gvozdyk (20-2, 16 KOs) to win the WBC light heavyweight title on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.
The fight was the debut for the 27-year-old Benavidez, who moved up from super middleweight to chase the belts at 175, but it was not the effort that fans had expected from him.
Benavidez looked exhausted after six rounds and caved in completely from that point on, getting outboxed and out-punched by the 37-year-old Gvozdyk. The scores were 116-112, 117-111, and 119-109.
The scoring was very wide for a fight that appeared to be knotted up 6-6 in reality at the end, but the judges gave it to the more popular guy, Benavidez.
Gvozdyk, who came out of a four-year retirement last year, didn’t look great tonight; with his once-vaunted punching power and mobility gone, the only thing left was his excellent jab and punch resistance.
Benavidez will need to decide whether to stay at light heavyweight because, based on this performance, he stands no chance of beating the champions Artur Beterbiev or Dmitry Bivol. Of course, with the way the judges scored the fight tonight, Benavidez would have a great chance of defeating both champions.
“I kept hurting him to the body. I was hitting him with a left hook with my hand open. I really couldn’t do much,” said Benavidez to the media at the post-fight press conference, revealing he was fighting with an injured hand, which took away his power.
“I still translate up to this weight. I’m going to keep working hard and getting stronger. I like it here, and it’s a part of earning the money, too. Now that I’m at 175, these are big boys, but I got a lot of things to prove to the world,” said Benavidez.
“If I can go back down to 168, I feel really comfortable making 168. I feel really comfortable making both. I’m going to go back down to 168 because I want to win a world title. I love this [WBC light heavyweight] interim title, but I’m really looking to catch a world title.
“I want an opportunity to capture a world title. So, I’m going to go down to 168 and win a world title from Canelo or whoever. I’m ready to be a four-time world champion,” said Benavidez.
