CALLING THE SHOTS
DB: I’m not thinking about a knockout or anything. I’m going to go in there and try to hurt him every single round. I’m going in there to establish my game plan and establish my jab. I want to follow my game plan and keep shooting, keep shooting, keep shooting. If he falls, he falls. If he doesn’t fall, you better believe that I am going to beat him clearly and decisively. The Ring: Anything special you’re working on for fight night? DB: I’m working on a lot of stuff and working on a lot of new combinations right now. I want to use as much speed and combinations and try to be as exciting as I can be. The Ring: That’s a perfect segue to this question: Ring owner Turki Alalshikh has called for “no more Tom and Jerry- type boxing matches.” What’s your take on that? DB: I think it’s good. For fighters who run around in the ring, it can be concerning. For me, I’m going to be the same fighter I am. It doesn’t change anything for me. I know fans like to see fighters fight, not run around all night. The Ring: Does it frustrate you sitting ringside to see a “Tom and Jerry” fight? DB: It does. But like I said, some fighters are just like that. They’re scared. Not every single fighter is a warrior. You can tell when fighters are scared. That’s not me. I know many people who say boxing is the “sweet science,” and it is, but it’s also a fight, too. Fans are paying a lot of money to see fights and they want to get their money’s worth. For me, I’d rather go in there and show people why I am the baddest man on the planet instead of winning a fight by running all night. It’s what I think. Not every fighter thinks the same. The Ring: You’re known for having an incredible engine. Can you take me through a training day with David Benavidez? DB: I like to sleep in. I like to get a good night’s sleep. I’ll get up around 9:30.
to play with them. That gives me even more motivation.
The Ring: You’ve done a lot of growing up. This David Benavidez is light years from the David Benavidez of seven years ago. You have to be proud of yourself. DB: I am. I have a picture of me when I was 13, when I was this 5-foot-5, 260-pound fat kid. Every time I see that fat kid, that’s what gets me through with the passion to succeed every day. That fat kid took a lot of grief. That fat kid heard he would never be good. It’s why I carry a picture in my mind of the fat kid. That fat kid had it figured in his head, and he wanted to be the best in the world. The Ring: You lost yourself a little there with some drugs in the past. What saved you? DB: I grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, and had a lot of friends who were drug dealers and alcoholics. Those were the people I was around in 2018. I was broken down so much, I had to change. I was broken down to the point where I didn’t know what to do. I wasn’t doing well. I had to find God and my spirituality. If I didn’t go through that mess, I wouldn’t be where I am now. Everyone learns at different stages of their lives. I’m a completely different person than I was. I was never addicted to drugs or alcohol. I used it casually. It’s why I was able to walk away. I would have punched the younger version in the face. My younger version would have punched back. (laughs) I won’t dwell on the mistakes I made. I didn’t lose myself completely. I’ve been sober for the last eight years. Boxing and my family saved my life. Joseph Santoliquito is an award- winning sportswriter who has been working for The Ring Magazine/ RingTV.com since October 1997 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. You can follow him on social media @JSantoliquito.
The Ring: I’ve seen you with your children. How has fatherhood fit into all of this? DB: I try to go to sleep every day at 11 so I can spend some time with the kids. My wife, Karina, is amazing. She takes a lot of weight off my shoulders. When I had my first son, I was away at camp for six months and that hurt me. I didn’t want to be away from them for that long. I can afford a big house, and I have a big den where I sleep during training camp away from the kids. My kids – Anthony, Khloe and Gabriel – mean everything to me. It is important to find dad time. It’s why I come home at around 7 and get
The Mexican Monster gave Demetrius Andrade a savage beating.
I’ll go outside and pray for 10 minutes. Then I’ll go to the gym and do 800 sit-ups and 800 reps with 15-pound weights. After that, I’ll run for 45 minutes, then get in the sauna for 10 minutes, and after that, go home, eat, rest, wake up and go back to the gym for two to three hours of boxing. That’s a day for me. I’m at the gym twice a day from 11 to around 1:30 in the first session, then go back from 3:30 to 5:30 or 6. I’ll get my conditioning in first. The Ring: Where does sparring fit in? DB: I’ll do that three days a week. Sparring every day puts wear and tear on the body. When I spar, I don’t go
easy. I try and mess my guys up.
The Ring: How much better is your diet? DB: Far, far better. (laughs) I’m not fat anymore. (laughs) A lot of people mess their health up with poor nutrition. What’s really changed for me in my training and in my boxing is the intake of water. I drink a gallon of water almost every single day. Having a gallon of water in your body reduces the salt, it flushes the salt away, making it easier to lose weight. I don’t drink soda. I don’t drink juice. I just drink water. The weight sheds itself. In the morning, I’ll eat four eggs, then I’ll work out. I’ll have a four-ounce piece of fish with
some rice, go train and have eight ounces of fish and a little more rice in the evening. It’s what I do every day. The Ring: How big will you get between fights? DB: I’ll walk around at 205. I want to see if my body can get bigger, if I might fight one day at cruiserweight. I am training three and a half months, so I lose the weight gradually. I’m not killing myself to make weight.
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