Jose Benavidez Sr. talks about his son David and Jose Valenzuela

By Ivan Montiel

21/04/2022

Jose Benavidez Sr. talks about his son David and Jose Valenzuela

Ivan Montiel: First I want to congratulate you on Jose Valenzuela's KO victory over Francisco Vargas last weekend. 
 
Jose Benavidez, Sr.: Thanks man! We worked hard for this fight, Valenzuela sacrificed a lot for this fight.  He stayed focused and disciplined and that’s what happens one takes things seriously.  
 
IM: I was so impressed. I didn’t think that fight would end so quickly (round one)!
 
JB: Well to be honest, I thought it would go six or seven rounds, maybe even the full distance due to the fact that Vargas has a lot of experience.  Vargas is a former [130-pound] champion who knows how to survive, so I thought it would be a test. I thought that Vargas was going to take Valenzuela to deep waters in order to see if this kid can swim.  I was somewhat nervous but it happened.
 
IM: El Bandido Vargas is a warrior…
 
JB: Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz went the distance with Vargas when they fought so I thought Vargas was going to give us some trouble. But we finished him early and that’s it.  I would love the opportunity to fight Cruz next.  Isaac Cruz is a great fighter, a very dangerous fighter. If not Cruz, then why not Yuriorkis Gamboa to see where we stand?
 
IM: It’s funny that you mention those names since I spoke to a few boxing guys this past weekend who also said they would like to see Jose Valenzuela versus Isaac Cruz next!
 
JB: That would be a great fight!  My respect to Cruz. This guy is a dangerous fighter, one of the best.  We would love to get that opportunity in order to test ourselves and see where we are at.  Valenzuela is 22 years of age, he’s young and doing well, so I think it would be a great fight.
 
IM: Are we going to see Valenzuela fight one or more time this year?
 
JB: Yes. This kid didn’t suffer any injuries, he didn’t even break a sweat.  Valenzuela is returning back to the ring on July 16th. We are just waiting on a card.  Al Haymon is his advisor, the man who puts everything together.  This kid is taking two weeks off since he had a long training camp but he wants to fight tomorrow. However, I told him to rest so that he can relax and heal.  This kid wants to keep training.  
 
IM: Your thoughts on the way Cruz dismantled Gamboa?
 
JB: Cruz is a strong fighter so whomever he fights, it’s a very good fight. If this guy fights Rolly Romero or even Tank Davis in a rematch, or Ryan Garcia, really anyone at 135 pounds, he’s a dangerous fighter and it will be an exciting fight.  
 
IM: Yes, for sure. What about the way Cruz dismantled Gamboa?
 
JB: Gamboa is another veteran, a former champion, someone who went the distance with Tank Davis.  In that fight, Davis had Gamboa hurt but that Gamboa knows how to survive, he will hold on making things difficult. Cruz was trying to knock Gamboa out with every shot but this guy would hold on and recuperate and continue fighting.  
 
IM: Now let’s talk about your son, former WBC super middleweight champion) David Benavidez.
 
JB: Well we are getting that WBC interim belt next.  We will fight David Lemieux on May 21st, but belts don’t matter to us!  We want to give boxing fans good fights because that’s how a fighter gets respect from the public. The belts will come so don’t worry about that, just do what you’re doing.  It’s about working hard and staying discipline.  In the end, everything will come together.  We need those big fights in order to get that respect.
 
IM: Your son is a former two-time champion!
 
JB: At the end of the day I would like to thank David Lemieux for taking this fight.  This guy has big balls to fight my son. The rest of them guys talk a lot saying that they want to fight my son David but they won’t accept a fight. Lemieux doesn’t care about anything. He is an animal who punches hard, he’s a dangerous fighter. We are not underestimating him because anything can happen in that ring.  After this fight, we want to fight in the fall against whomever. A lot of guys are saying that we are already making plans when this fight against Lemieux hasn’t happened yet. It doesn’t matter because at the end of the day, my son is only 25 years of age. We are not afraid of losing our undefeated record. But we are getting ready to beat Lemieux. I am super positive that we are going to win. We are training very hard and we want to win impressively in order to get to that next level. I take nothing away from Lemieux but dude, we are training very hard.   My son just weighed in, we have that 30-day weigh in tomorrow, everything’s great!  The [WBC thirty-day pre-fight weight] limit right now is 185, my son weighed in at 184.