By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
David Benavidez successfully defended his World Boxing Council (WBC) interim super middleweight belt after pulling off a technical knockout (TKO) win over Demetrius Andrade last November 26, 2023, held at the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The dominant Mexican power puncher stopped Andrade during the remaining seconds of the sixth round and just extended his undefeated professional boxing record to 28 wins and 24 knockouts.
Despite the volume of punches Andrade threw in the six-round clash, Benavidez turned it up in the third round and unleashed a barrage of vicious hooks that changed the complexion of the fight.
Andrade started the bout on his terms after boxing pretty well with his solid jabs and quick inside right straights that piled up the points in the scorecards.
However, after Benavidez landed that single right hook that wobbled Andrade, the momentum of the fight began to favor the Mexican brawler.
Benavidez’s first shining moment came in the final 19 seconds of the fourth round after flooring Andrade with a big right hand.
Bloodied and battered, the confused Andrade was fortunately saved by the bell but had to face worse consequences in the last two rounds as Benavidez just kept on stalking him and applied pressure.
Benavidez dominated the fifth round after only limiting Andrade to a total of 23 punches attempted while also connecting on several powerful hooks that worsened the latter’s swollen eyes.
With only five seconds remaining in the fight, the match referee couldn’t withstand the beating that Andrade was taking after getting cornered by Benavidez.
Before the referee officially declared the TKO win, Benavidez was able to throw four straight punches that all landed in Andrade’s jaw.
Benavidez and his camp are now looking to hunt down Canelo Alvarez and set up a highly-anticipated super middleweight fight next year.
