Unbeaten two-time world champion David “El Bandera Roja” Benavídez and former world champion David Lemieux officially kicked off fight week events with a media workout on Wednesday ahead of their 12-round showdown for the vacant Interim WBC Super Middleweight Title, which headlines live on SHOWTIME this Saturday, May 21 from Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona in a Premier Boxing Champions event.
The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® telecast begins at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. It features two exciting undercard matchups as hard-hitting Cuban prospect Yoelvis Gómez faces Mexico’s Jorge Cota in the co-main event. In contrast, Dominican prospect Luis “The Twist” Núñez squares off against Mexico’s Jonathan Fierro in a battle of unbeaten that kicks off the action.
Tickets for the live event, which Sampson Boxing and TGB Promotions promote, are on sale now and are available for purchase through Ticketmaster.com at the link HERE.
The two-power punchers (combined 85% KO rate for Benavídez and Lemieux) showed off their skills at Central Boxing Gym. They looked to grab the interim title and move one step closer to regaining world champion status with an emphatic victory on Saturday night. For Benavídez, he will be returning to fight in his home state for the second-straight outing after he knocked out Kyrone Davis in fNovemberof his hometown fans
The fighters were joined by their respective trainers at the media event, with Benavídez’s father, Jose Sr., in attendance and Lemieux’s renowned trainer, Marc Ramsay. Here is what the workout participants had to say Wednesday:
DAVID BENAVIDEZ
“I want to go out there and follow my game plan. I visualize everything I’m going to do in the ring. I don’t care [if the KO] comes in the first, second, fifth, or 12th round. When it comes, it comes.
“I just hit the weight yesterday, and now everything is fantastic. 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.
“It makes me happy to be able to inspire kids and to see the smiles on the faces of the people in my city. It’s encouraging to have them come out and support me the way 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 your life changes once you have a child. 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.”
DAVID LEMIEUX
“On fight night, I’ll be about 180 pounds. I don’t care what he is at. Maybe 190? It doesn’t matter. I’ll be ready no matter what.
“If he wants a war, he’ll get a war. I’m strong, and I’ve every confidence in my abilities. I know he’s a powerful fighter, but we have a plan against him. We’re not worried, and we will do what we have to do to be at our best on fight night. David Benavídez will have his hands full on Saturday night.
“If you know David Lemieux, he’s never refused a fight, and he’s always taken whatever fight they put in front of him. If you want to be a world champion, you have to fight for the best. When we had big fights in the past, we always took them.
“He’s a great fighter, and you can’t take anything away from him, but he’s never fought David Lemieux, and he will see what that means on Saturday night. I know what I’m going in there against. Does he know what he’s going in against?”
JOSE BENAVIDEZ SR., Benavídez’s Father and Trainer
“I ran this gym for five years, and we never thought that we would get to where we are right now. This is just the beginning, though. My heart beats with pride seeing David be embraced like this.
“I never thought I would be a boxing trainer. I just wanted to help my son achieve his goals. Now we are here and very thankful for everything we have been given.
“We are very focused on a hard-hitting opponent in Lemieux. It will be a spectacular fight, and we are not about to look any farther than that.”
MARC RAMSAY, Lemieux’s Trainer
“Everybody knows David Lemieux is an aggressive fighter, and David Benavídez is fierce. I don’t think either fighter will change that the night of the fight. That’s only going to give the fans an exciting and action-packed fight. Because of the style of both fighters, it only guarantees it will be a great fight.
“Benavídez is a complete fighter. He’s a big guy, he’s fast, and he’s also powerful. So he’s the complete package. But at this level, everyone has the package to become the elite. You cannot escape from these big fights if you want to be world champion.”
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