Ahead of his fight upcoming against Caleb Plant for the interim WBC super middleweight title, David Benavidez remembered the sparring sessions he held against Gennady Golovkin when he was a teenager, and credits it to have made him a better boxer.
“GGG made me wild every time we shared the ring together,” Benavidez wrote in a post on Instagram. “Those sparring sessions we had really made me the fighter I am today. From the age of 15 to 19, I worked with GGG in various training camps. I am grateful to this man who was humble and I am happy to say that I learned from the best.”
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Currently, Benavidez is 26 years old and has been the WBC champion at 168 twice. “La Bandera Roja” was champion for the first time in September 2017 by defeating Ronald Gavril via split decision.
He then lost it for failing a doping test, but managed to get it back against Anthony Dirrell in September 2019, although he lost it again for not making weight in his first defense against Roamer Alexis Angulo.
Now, Benavidez is looking to become a world champion again. On March 25, he will face Caleb Plant and, the winner will become the next challenger for Canelo Álvarez, who is currently the undisputed champion at 168.
For his part, Gennadiy Golovkin will turn 41 in April of this year and is in the final phase of his career. He comes from losing to Canelo in September 2022 and is looking to meet his next rival.
“This was when José was at his best and David was the younger brother,” recalled trainer Abel Sánchez in an interview with the YouTube channel KO Artist Sports. “He was 16 years old and Gennadiy was never a bully in the gym. He always worked with the boys. What I saw that David was someone who was not going to go back, no matter who was in front.
