In His Phoenix Homecoming, David Benavidez TKOs Heavy Underdog Kyrone Davis

Tonight was a homecoming for super middleweight David Benavidez whose last appearance before the home folks in Phoenix had come in May of 2016. On that occasion, Benavidez was mere window dressing on a show headlined by his older brother. Tonight he was the headliner and he didn’t disappoint, turning away Kyrone Davis whose corner stopped the contest at the 0:48 mark of round seven.

A 30/1 favorite, Benavidez started slowly but had the match comfortably in hand by the fifth round. Davis, who took the fight on 17 days notice after Jose Uzcategui was scratched for performance enhancing drugs, was the smaller man and didn’t have enough offense to deter Benavidez once “El Bandera Roja” got in gear.

Benavidez (25-0, 21 KOs) has never lost inside the ring, but twice had his title stripped from him, the first time for testing positive for cocaine and the second time for coming in over the weight limit. He is considered Canelo Alvarez’s most worthy opponent assuming that Canelo chooses to stay at 168.

David Benavidez could have theoretically forced Canelo’s hand if Uzcategui hadn’t been scratched. Benavidez vs. Uzcategui would have been a 12-round WBC eliminator. Benavidez vs. Davis was reduced to a 10-rounder.

Davis, a Terence Crawford sparring partner from Wilmington, Delaware, declined to 16-3-1.

Co-Feature

In the 10-round co-feature, David’s older brother Jose Benavidez Jr returned to the ring after a 37-month absence and showed poorly while receiving a draw vs. Francisco Emanuel Torres. One of judges had it 96-94 for the local man, but he was out-voted by his colleagues who both had it 95-95.

Benavidez, a nominal welterweight (he carried 145 in his previous fight against Terence Crawford), came in at 158 ¾. He was out-worked in many of the rounds, but Torres’s punches couldn’t crack an egg. At intervals late in the fight, the crowd booed the lack of activity.

A 32-year-old Argentine who came in riding a 9-fight winning streak, Torres will bring a 17-3-1  record into his next encounter. It’s back to the drawing board for Jose Jr (27-1-1) who looked older than his 29 years.

The Showtime doubleheader opened with a replay of the Canelo-Plant fight and more than 80 minutes elapsed before there was live boxing.

Photo credit: Stephanie Trapp / SHOWTIME

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