David Benavidez and David Lemieux meet this weekend in a boxing showdown.
The two square off live on Showtime under the Premier Boxing Champions banner. The vacant WBC super middleweight title will be on the line from Glendale, Arizona.
For Benavidez, this is another opportunity to add to his resume that already includes two world title runs. The 25-year-old previously held the title he will be fighting for from 2017-18 and 2019-20.
“I definitely want to go out there and follow my gameplan. I don’t care [if the KO] comes in the first, second, fifth or 12th round,” he said. “When it comes, it comes. I visualize everything I’m going to do in the ring.
“I just hit the weight yesterday and now everything is amazing. We took that stress off the table after four months of hard work. Now, I’m excited to go out there, fight for the title and give the fans a great fight.”
Benavidez is 25-0 with 22 of those wins coming by way of knockout. That includes a November finish over Kyrone Davis.
In 2019, he bested Anthony Dirrell for the title, while winning it in 2017 over Ronald Gavril. Benavidez made one title defense, also coming against Gavril.
“It makes me happy to be able to inspire kids and to see the smiles on the faces of the people in my city,” he said. “It’s inspiring to have them come out and support me the way that they do.
“It means the world to me to be here in my hometown with my family – both my son and my dad. Now I know what my dad meant when he said that once you have a child, your life changes. My son Anthony is 18 months and he’s given me so much motivation to be the best version of myself. I have a newfound focus and I’m ready to conquer the division.”