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LAS VEGAS (AP) — David Benavidez retained the interim world super middleweight belt by stopping Demetrius Andrade after the sixth round Saturday night.
In what was billed as clash of styles that could go the distance between unbeaten 168-pounders, Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs) looked more like a clinician with a dominating performance before Andrade’s corner requested the stoppage after the sixth round.
Andrade (32-1) suffered the first loss of his career.
Benavidez is widely recognized as the world’s best super middleweight after Canelo Alvarez. Immediately after his win he called for a match against Alvarez to unify the super middleweight title as an annouced gathering of 9,585 fans roared their approval.
“I think I solidified myself as the dominant performer I am,” Benavidez said in the ring during the post-fight interview on Showtime. “Now just give me the fight that everyone wants to see.
“Let’s give the people what they want to see and they want to see David Benavidez against Canelo
After three close rounds, Benavidez, 26, lived up to his nickname of “The Mexican Monster” by neutralizing Andrade’s technical skills by implementing a violent non-stop pounding over the final three rounds.
In the fourth round, Benavidez began landing solid shots and taking advantage of openings for follow-up combinations while absorbing everything Andrade threw before scoring a knockdown just before the bell.
Benavidez’s boxing skills were on full display in the fifth round, as he moved forward aggressively and continued to impose his size and power to weaken the former two-division world champion.
“It’s the fighting spirit ... it’s my passion,” Benavidez said about being triggered every time he was hit. “If you hit with me one or two punches, I’ll come back with five or six.”
Benavidez closed a minus-430 favorite at FanDuel, which means bettors would have had to lay $430 to win $100. He hopes his command performance will be what it takes to finally lure Alvarez into the ring.
“I just want to say welcome to the David Benavidez era,” Benavidez said.
In the co-main event, WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo and Jose Benavidez Jr. put on a show in a 10-round non-title match. Charlo (33-0, 22 KOs) spent much of the fight absorbing shots from Benavidez Jr. (28-3-1), but delivered much more damage than he received. Charlo’s rapid-fire left-uppercut, right-hook combination stopped Benavidez in his tracks several times as the champ kept his perfect record intact.
Subriel Matias (20-1, 20 KOs) retained his IBF junior welterweight belt by way of TKO. After dominating the first two rounds of the fight, Shohjahon Ergashev endured a rash of pummeling from Matias over the next three rounds, never appearing injured, but clearly taking a beating. Called two seconds into the sixth round at the request of his team, Ergashev (23-1) didn’t come out of his corner.
Lamont Roach (24-1-1, 9 KOs) took Hector Garcia’s WBA super featherweight belt with a split decision. Though he scored a knockdown in the 12th round with an inadvertent shot to the back of Garcia’s head, Roach may have put an exclamation on his victory with his biggest punch of the fight in the 11th round. Roach stepped into a power right that staggered Garcia (16-2) and followed it with a battering of combinations until the bell sounded. Judges Tim Cheatham (114-113) and Robert Hoyle 111-116 scored the fight in favor of Roach, while Max DeLuca (114-113) had Garcia winning the bout.
- W.G. Ramirez
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