David Benavidez’s inventory has dropped dramatically since his debut at 175 towards former WBC mild heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June fifteenth.
Seen because the boogeyman and dubbed ‘The Mexican Monster,’ Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) regarded mortal at 175, exhibiting he wasn’t the fighter the boxing public had beforehand thought he was.
The 27-year-old Benavidez’s efficiency confirmed what I had suspected: He’s solely good at 168 due to his super dimension benefit over his opposition.
A Grandfather Clause for Rehydration?
Benavidez continues to be younger sufficient to drop some weight to compete at 168 and use his dimension to beat smaller fighters. Benavidez would have issues if he needed to take care of the 10-lb rehydration restrict the IBF imposes on fights for his or her titles.
Benavidez holds the WBC interim 168-lb title, and that group doesn’t have a 10-lb rehydration restrict.
Ideally, all sanctioning our bodies ought to have a 10-lb rehydration restrict for security causes to forestall weight bullies from gaming the system to benefit from their large dimension to realize a bonus towards smaller opposition.
If all 4 sanctioning our bodies implement a 10-lb rehydration restrict to guard fighters, it will put Benavidez in a tricky place the place he would seemingly be pressured to maneuver to 175 as a result of he wouldn’t be capable of make weight.
The one manner round that may be if one of many sanctioning our bodies had a grandfather clause to permit sure fighters to proceed rehydrating properly previous thie 10-lb rehydration restrict.
It could be like what Main League Baseball did after they outlawed the spitball in 1920. Below the grandfather clause, they continued to permit spitball pitchers to make use of that pitch till the tip of their careers.
With no related grandfather clause for the 10-lb rehydration restrict, Benavidez could be confronted with shifting to 175 and swimming with the predatory sharks with out his customary weight benefit over his opposition.
Eddie Hearn’s Skepticism
Promoter Eddie Hearn chimed in along with his ideas, stating that Benavidez isn’t lower out for 175 and would lose to champions Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. Hearn says Benavidez excels at 168.
“I like Benavidez; I feel he’s fighter. How good? [Oleksandr] Gvozdyk is first rate. He’s outdated. I don’t assume Benavidez is a 175-fighter. I don’t assume he beats [Artur] Beterbiev. I don’t assume he beats Bivol,” mentioned Eddie Hearn to Combat Hub TV, speaking about his view on David Benavidez after his latest debut at mild heavyweight on June 15.
“I feel he’s very arduous to beat at 168. I feel that’s the place quite a lot of his benefits come,” mentioned Hearn about Benavidez.
The Way forward for the Mexican Monster
Benavidez’s efficiency in his debut at 175 towards Gvozdyk forged doubt on his future on this weight class. If Benavidez continues to marketing campaign at 175, he’ll seemingly have issues towards Bivol, Beterbiev, and several other of the highest contenders in thie weight class.
Whereas Benavidez would possibly be capable of return to 168 to proceed dominating smaller opposition in that weight class, as a result of WBC not having a 10-lb rehydration restrict, he’s not going to have the ability to do that for much longer bodily. Benavidez will likely be 30 quickly, and he’s getting heavier.
If Canelo isn’t going to struggle Benavidez, there isn’t purpose for ‘The Mexican Monster’ to proceed to empty all the way down to the 168-lb weight class. Except for the not too long ago overwhelmed Jaime Munguia, nobody else is standard in that division.
