Post-fight quotes from David Benavidez
From Premier Boxing Champions, some comments from Phoenix's David Benavidez after his win over Oleksandr Gvozdyk (translated from Spanish):
"I went up a division and I won every round, dominating an ex-world champion who was also an Olympian," Benavidez said. "I hurt him a couple of times, but I didn't throw as many combinations because my hand started to hurt in the third round. I had torn my right ligament four weeks ago, and I hurt my left hand during my training camp. I'm proud of myself, despite a cut three weeks ago I stayed with it to give the fans who came to see me a good fight.
"I'm excited for what is to come in this (light heavyweight) division."
Gervonta Davis knockouts out Frank Martin
Gervonta "Tank" Davis turned things around in his fight in the seventh round, and in the eighth finished his fight against Frank Martin with an upper-cut for a knockout. Davis held onto his WBA lightweight belt.
The upper-cut with the left hand stunned Martin, the Davis finished with another left hand to improve to 30-0.
Martin did damage early, but couldn't avoid Davis' devastating punches.
Phoenix's David Benavidez wins light heavyweight debut, remains undefeated
David Benavidez is the current king of boxing in Phoenix, even though he now calls Miami home and has lived in Las Vegas and Seattle over the past few years.
The 27-year-old who was born and raised in the Valley of the Sun cruised to a 12-round, unanimous decision win over Ukraine's Oleksandr Gvozdyk to capture the WBC World interim light heavyweight championship. He's 29-0 and was never seriously threatened against Gvozdyk.
Benavidez won on the scorecards, 116-112, 117-111 and 119-109. He took some shots later in the fight but got the job done effectively.
"I think it's a 7 out of 10. Oleksandr's a great fighter," Benavidez said in his post-fight interview, assessing his performance.
Benavidez suffered a cut over his left eye two weeks ago, and it resurfaced in the fight. But it didn't affect him.
"Puro Phoeniquera!" he spoke into a microphone, giving a shoutout to his hometown.
Benavidez immediately heads to the front of the line to fight for the undisputed light heavyweight title. It could happen within a year, if he doesn't land the much-anticipated fight against Canelo Alvarez before that.
Eight rounds in, David Benavidez winning fight vs. Oleksandr Gvozdyk
A graphic popped up during the fight that said Benavidez has landed almost twice as many punches, percentage-wise. That's indicative of how his bout with Oleksandr Gvozdyk is going. He's defended himself well, dodged counter-punches well and keeps working the body.
Another thing from Benavidez is that he has not appeared to be hurt by Gvozdyk, although he did have a cut above his left eye after the eighth round. Can Benavidez, clearly the crowd favorite, keep it going and finish the fight?
Celebrities in attendance include Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys and Oleksandr Usyk, the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, like Gvozdyk a native of Ukraine. Several NBA players were spotted in the crowd, including Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks, who is a huge boxing fan.
Through four rounds, David Benavidez in control
Phoenix native David Benavidez is working the body with a lot of effectiveness through four rounds against Oleksandr Gvozdyk. Benavidez is starting to wear down Gvozdyk, who is two inches taller in height but 10 years older.
The body shots are setting up hooks and combinations that are also landing. His punches are taking their toll.
David Benavidez makes ring entrance
Introduced as "The Mexican Monster," Phoenix native David Benavidez walked to the ring at the MGM Grand Garden Arena for his fight against Oleksandr Gvozdyk for his light heavyweight debut bout. His song of choice was "Kalashnikov" by Clave Especial.
Before the fight, a betting analyst said this would be the last time Benavidez would be a co-main event fighter in Vegas.
The first round is in the books.
Alberto Puello edges Gary Antuanne Russell for belt
Gary Antuanne Russell had won all 17 of his previous fights via knockout or TKO. That changed Saturday, which turned into a big day for boxing in the Dominican Republic as Alberto Puello won a split decision over Russell after 12 rounds for the WBC interim world super lightweight title.
Puello (23-0) won by the narrowest of margins on the scorecards. Russell won one card 118-109 (very questionable), then Puello won the next two cards 115-112 and 114-113, which were much more indicative of how the fight went.
Phoenix's Elijah Garcia suffers first loss
Elijah Garcia, fighting out of Glendale, Ariz., spent much of the full 10 rounds of his fight with Kyrone Davis being frustrated. The 21-year-old promising middleweight couldn't solve the crafty Davis, who kept Garcia off of him with a frequently outstretched arm and countered Garcia's combinations with shots that scored of his own.
Garcia, the top contender in the WBA middleweight rankings with a top-five ranking in the WBC, moved to 16-1 with the defeat. Davis won via split decision with two scorecards favoring him 97-93, and one for Garcia at 98-92.
That scorecard seemed ridiculous given how Davis was in control all of the way and landed more punches than Garcia.
Garcia is just 21. He's got a lot of boxing in front of him, but this is a setback with lessons he will have to learn from. He didn't show much quickness, just trying to walk Davis down and hurt him with body shots but it didn't work.
Garcia had looked forward to a WBA title shot if he won. Now he will have to work his way back to that opportunity.
Carlos Adames retains middleweight belt
Carlos Adames of the Dominican Republic scored a unanimous decision win over Terrell Gausha in the opening bout of the Premier Boxing Champions pay-per-view that will end with fights involving Phoenix's David Benavidez and lightweight champion Gervonta "Tank" Davis.
The Adames fight went the full 12 rounds and didn't offer much action. But Adames won easily on the scorecards and remains WBC World middleweight champ.
How to watch Gervonta Davis, David Benavidez fights?
The Gervonta Davis vs. Frank Martin and David Benavidez vs. Oleksandr Gvozdyk fight card will be streamed on Prime Video pay-per-view. Fights started at 2:30 p.m. Phoenix time, the preliminaries including Phoenix native Elijah Garcia against Kyrone Davis.
- How to watch: Prime Video pay-per-view
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Benavidez vs Gvozdyk, Gervonta Davis vs Frank Martin ring walk times
The pay-per-view card will begin at 5 p.m. in Phoenix, with the ring walk for the co-main event between David Benavidez and Oleksandr Gvozdyk expected around 7:15 p.m. Phoenix time. The Gervonta Davis vs. Frank Martin ring walks expected at around 8:15 p.m.
Benavidez vs Gvozdyk, Davis vs Martin pay-per-view price
The Gervonta Davis vs. Frank Martin pay-per-view, featuring David Benavidez vs. Oleksandr Gvozdyk, will cost $74.95 through Prime Video.
- PPV price: $74.95
Benavidez vs. Gvozdyk, Davis vs Martin predictions
Gvozdyk and Benavidez are former sparring partners. Benavidez might finally have the most comfortable fighting weight for him in his career, and his punching power and ability to avoid getting hit with big shots should keep him in control of the fight. Gvozdyk might make things interesting and take the fight a longer distance.
Davis looks unstoppable as a lightweight and should remain undefeated. He is pound for pound one of the best fighters ever, and it might take a big mistake on his part to open the door for Martin.
Gervonta 'Tank' Davis vs Frank Martin fight undercard
- Main event: Gervonta Davis vs. Frank Martin; WBA lightweight title
- Co-main: David Benavidez vs. Oleksandr Gvozdyk; interim WBC light heavyweight title
- Gary Antuanne Russell vs. Alberto Puello; interim WBC junior welterweight title
- Carlos Adames vs. Terrell Gausha; WBC middleweight title
- Mark Magsayo vs. Eduardo Ramirez; WBA Intercontinental super featherweight title (won by Magsayo by unanimous decision).
- Justin Viloria vs. Angel Antonio Contreras; junior lightweight (won by Vilora by TKO in fifth round)
- Elijah Garcia (Phoenix, Ariz.) vs. Kyrone Davis, middleweight
Benavidez vs Gvozdyk, Davis vs Martin fight location
The fights will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Saturday's card will be the 100th boxing event at the arena, which has hosted some of the greatest bouts in boxing history and solidified Las Vegas as the boxing capital of the world.
Gervonta 'Tank' Davis vs Frank Martin fight odds
Gervonta 'Tank' Davis is a -800 favorite to win on BetMGM, while Frank Martin is +500, per CBS Sports.
David Benavidez vs Oleksandr Gvozdyk fight odds
David Benavidez is a -710 favorite to win on BetMGM, while Oleksandr Gvozdyk is +450, according to BoxLive odds.
Gervonta 'Tank' Davis fight record
Gervonta Davis is 29-0 with 27 wins by knockout. He has been a world champion at junior lightweight and lightweight,
Frank Martin fight record
Frank Martin is 18-0 with 12 wins by knockout. He seeks his first title on Saturday.
David Benavidez fight record
David Benavidez is 28-0 with 24 wins by knockout.
Benavidez is a two-time former super middleweight champion though he had to give up his belt for personal matters both times. He is the interim WBC super middleweight champion and mandatory challenger to Canelo Alvarez.
The winner of Benavidez-Gvozdyk will be a mandatory challenger to the winner of the undisputed 175-pound title fight between Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol in October.
Oleksandr Gvozdyk fight record
Oleksandr Gvozdyk is 20-1 with 16 wins by knockout.
Gvozdyk is a former world champion at light heavyweight, having lost the belt to Artur Beterbiev. Following the loss to Beterbiev in October 2019, Gvozdyk was out of the ring for more three years before returning in February 2023.
