For those wondering what David Benavidez would look like after moving from super middleweight to light heavyweight, the answer was pretty much the same. Benavidez scored a unanimous decision against former world champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk on the undercard of Gervonta “Tank” Davis vs. Frank Martin to become interim WBC champion.
From the first moments of the fight, Benavidez made his intentions clear: he was going to go to Gvozdyk’s body early and often. Additionally, Benavidez was ready to stay in front, pushing Gvozdyk back with pressure and volume punches.
Gvozdyk attempted to counter Benavidez’s pressure by landing a steady stream of punches but no power punches to dissuade Benavidez from his game plan, but the punches were unable to change the course of the fight.
By the fourth round, Benavidez was landing powerful head shots effectively, along with a steady stream of body shots. With a more than two-to-one advantage in power punches, Benavidez seemed to need to stay the course and force Gvozdyk to prove that he could continue to take clean punches and find a way to turn the tide.
When Gvozdyk succeeded with one or two punches, Benavidez responded with strong flurries that immediately regained momentum and forced Gvozdyk back on defense. Not to be lost in the brilliant offensive display, Benavidez displayed fantastic defense, combining head movement with constant blocking of Gvozdyk’s punches with his gloves.
After 12 rounds, Benavidez was victorious by unanimous decision with scores of 116-112, 117-111 and 119-109 to become interim WBC light heavyweight champion.
