Benavidez Warns Gvozdyk During Their Final Presser – ‘I Go For The KO Every Single Time’
David Benavidez and Oleksandr Gvozdyk had their final pre-fight presser ahead of their Light Heavyweight Clash on Saturday.
The two will take part in a co-main event fight on the Gervonta Davis vs. Frank Martin card. It is PBC’s third PPV on Amazon Prime Video, giving both fighters a big stage to perform. The WBC Interim Light Heavyweight Title is on the line, meaning the winner becomes mandatory for either Artur Beterbiev or Dmitry Bivol, who fight for undisputed on October 12.
This is Benavidez’s first fight at the weight class after having failed to secure the Canelo Alvarez fight at 168. Benavidez enters the fight with a 28-0 record, with 24 KO wins. He stopped two-division champion Demetrius Andrade in his last fight. Benavidez has sparred with Gvozdyk previously, where his opponent recalled Benavidez getting the better of him. Gvozdyk only has one loss in his career against the undefeated Beterbiev.
He has a 20-1 record, with 16 wins by knockout. He has stopped his last two opponents. At 37, the Ukrainian knows he does not have many more chances of getting a title shot. He hopes to follow in Oleksandr Usyk’s footsteps and secure a big win while his country is at war with Russia. But given that Benavidez got the better of him in sparring when Gvozdyk was younger, can he reverse the tables at 37? He did admit that he is in the best shape of his life, but he still faces a tough task.
Presser
“I’m looking to steal the show. We got two more days till ‘El Monstro’ comes out, so I’m very excited…I didn’t feel like there was any reason to stay at 168 any longer. My main goal was to win all the belts at 168. Canelo is holding all the belts hostage and I’d been at 168 for the past 10 years so my naturally my body is getting bigger and I think this is just a perfect time to come up and I’m looking to capture all the titles in this class.
“I really don’t care about Canelo. If he didn’t want to get the fight at 168, we’re at 175 now and we’re looking to face the best here. The better the competition gets for me, the better I get myself. That’s why I’ve never shied away from no hard fights. I’ve been working with world champions since I was 14 years old, and the best has always come out of me.
“When the bright lights get turned on, I always show up. Oleksandr Gvozdyk is a great fighter. I’m prepared for him. We actually sparred when I was 21 years old. I know he’s in the best shape of his life. We’ve got two warriors going up against each other. We had a hell of a sparring session — three sparring sessions, to be exact,” Benavidez
“I’m going to resist the Monster…I’m going to win this fight because I’m in the best shape of my life,” Oleksandr Gvozdyk
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