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Mike Coppinger, ESPN
Former super middleweight champion David Benavidez faces two-division champ Demetrius Andrade on Saturday night at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, with a potential fight against 168-pound undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez on the line.
Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs), 26, is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Caleb Plant in March. He has won seven of his past 10 fights by stoppage. Benavidez has been looking for a mega fight against Alvarez, and a win Saturday could be just what he needs. But Benavidez is not taking Andrade lightly.
“He’s not an easy opponent. He’s very technical,” Benavidez said during a news conference Tuesday in Los Angeles. “He has very good defense. But I always find a way to win … I’m going to find a way to beat him.”
Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs), 35, has never fought an elite fighter like Benavidez. His best wins are against Maciej Sulecki in 2019 and Liam Williams in 2021. He’s been inactive as of late, with this fight being only his second in the past two years.
“I’ve fought every style there is today,” Andrade said during a recent training session in San Carlos, California. “I just have to go in there, find his weakness and figure out what’s going to work.
“I don’t really know his strengths until I get in there, but from watching him, he likes to overwhelm his opponents. That’s really all I see. … I’m going to expose his weaknesses.”
Mike Coppinger is in Las Vegas to bring you all that’s happening, including fight results and round-by-round analysis.