David Benavidez, the unbeaten Phoenix fighter who won titles in three divisions

David Benavidez turned professional at 16, became the youngest super middleweight world champion in history at 20, and by May 2026 had won major titles at 168, 175 and 200 pounds without a single loss. Along the way he twice lost a belt outside the ring, once for a failed drug test and once on the scales, and spent years calling out Canelo Alvarez, who never agreed to fight him.

A Phoenix Childhood and a Fighting Family

Anthony David Benavidez was born on December 17, 1996, in Phoenix, Arizona, to a Mexican father and an Ecuadorian mother. Boxing was the family trade. His older brother, José Benavidez Jr., went on to hold the WBA interim welterweight title, and both brothers have been trained by their father throughout their careers.

Benavidez reportedly started boxing at three, but his path was not smooth. As a teenager his weight climbed to around 250 pounds, and he needed roughly two years to bring it down. That detour cut his amateur career short; Wikipedia credits him with an unbeaten amateur record of 15 wins. Rather than wait for a longer amateur run, he turned professional while still a minor.

Turning Pro at 16 in Mexico

Because he was too young to box professionally in most American jurisdictions, Benavidez made his debut across the border in Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, on August 17, 2013, scoring a first-round knockout. He built his record quickly. In April 2015 he stopped Rollin Williams in one round to win the vacant NABF junior light heavyweight title, and in 2016 he began appearing on Premier Boxing Champions cards in the United States.

That year brought a run of stoppages at super middleweight: Phillip Jackson Benson in two rounds, Francy Ntetu in seven at Barclays Center in a stoppage some viewed as premature, and Denis Douglin, who was halted 35 seconds into the tenth. In 2017 he knocked out Sherali Mamajonov in two rounds, then stopped Rogelio Medina in eight in a WBC eliminator that made him the mandatory challenger.

Youngest Super Middleweight Champion in History

On September 8, 2017, Benavidez faced Romania's Ronald Gavril for the vacant WBC super middleweight title and won a split decision over 12 rounds. He was 20 years old. ESPN later described him as the youngest fighter ever to win a world title at 168 pounds. In February 2018 he met Gavril again and removed any doubt, winning a unanimous decision in the rematch.

A Failed Test and a Title Lost Outside the Ring

The momentum stopped in September 2018. ESPN reported that a urine sample collected in Las Vegas on August 27 by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association, which runs testing for the WBC's Clean Boxing Program, had come back positive for benzoylecgonine, a cocaine metabolite. Benavidez, then 21, apologised publicly on Twitter. The WBC stripped him of the title and suspended him, with Wikipedia dating the end of the ban to February 2019; reports at the time differed on its exact length.

The same year he was involved in a contract dispute. Promoter Sampson Lewkowicz sued after Top Rank signed Benavidez, and according to Wikipedia the case was settled in June 2018, with Benavidez returning a $250,000 signing bonus.

Regaining the WBC Belt Against Anthony Dirrell

Benavidez returned in March 2019 with a second-round stoppage of J'Leon Love. Six months later, on September 28, 2019, he challenged Anthony Dirrell for the WBC title he had never lost in the ring. The fight, a co-feature to Errol Spence Jr. against Shawn Porter at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, turned in the sixth round when Benavidez opened a cut over Dirrell's right eye. The doctor checked it repeatedly, and Dirrell's corner threw in the towel at 1:39 of the ninth. Benavidez, now 22-0, told the crowd: "I'm now the youngest two-time (super middleweight) world champion, from Phoenix, Arizona."

That second reign also ended on a technicality. Before his August 15, 2020 defence against Roamer Alexis Angulo at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, Benavidez came in 2.8 pounds over the 168-pound limit, ESPN reported, and was stripped at the weigh-in. He beat Angulo anyway, forcing a retirement after ten rounds, but left the ring without a belt.

The Interim Years and the Caleb Plant Rivalry

Benavidez kept winning while the major titles at 168 went elsewhere. He stopped Ronald Ellis in 11 rounds in March 2021 and Kyrone Davis in seven in November 2021, then knocked out the former middleweight champion David Lemieux in three rounds in May 2022 to win the WBC interim super middleweight title.

His biggest super middleweight fight came on March 25, 2023, against former IBF champion Caleb Plant, after months of bitter public exchanges. Benavidez won a unanimous decision by scores of 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113. In November 2023 he handed Demetrius Andrade his first professional loss, forcing him to retire on his stool after six rounds.

Throughout this period Benavidez repeatedly called for a fight with Canelo Alvarez, the undisputed super middleweight champion. It never happened.

Moving Up to Light Heavyweight

In June 2024 Benavidez moved to 175 pounds and outpointed the former WBC champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk over 12 rounds to win the vacant WBC interim light heavyweight title. According to Wikipedia, he fought with a torn tendon in his right hand.

On February 1, 2025, in Las Vegas, he met the unbeaten Cuban David Morrell. The scorecards read 115-111, 115-111 and 118-108 in his favour, giving Morrell his first loss and adding the WBA "regular" light heavyweight belt to his interim WBC title. Benavidez was ruled down in the 11th when his gloves touched the canvas after a right hand, and Morrell lost a point for punching after the bell. Afterwards Morrell argued that the two closer cards were the fairer reflection of the fight.

His next outing was in Riyadh on November 22, 2025, at the ANB Arena, defending the WBC title against Britain's Anthony Yarde. The Ring reported that Yarde's nose was bloodied and a ringside doctor examined him before the seventh round. In that round Benavidez dropped him with head and body shots and lost a point for hitting him while he was down. Referee Hector Afu stepped in at 1:59 with Yarde trapped on the ropes. By CompuBox count Benavidez landed 159 of 380 punches against Yarde's 58 of 308. It was Yarde's third failed world title bid, after stoppage losses to Sergey Kovalev and Artur Beterbiev. Benavidez left Riyadh at 31-0 and named his next target on the spot: Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramírez at cruiserweight.

Three-Division Champion at Cruiserweight

That fight took place on May 2, 2026, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, for Ramírez's WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles. Benavidez, 29, was a heavy betting favourite. He floored Ramírez, a former super middleweight and cruiserweight champion, at the end of the fourth round, the first knockdown of the Mexican's career. In the sixth Ramírez went down to a knee again and was counted out at 2:59. He was taken to hospital for a head scan, with his team reporting a swollen eye.

The win made Benavidez the first boxer to win championships at 168, 175 and 200 pounds. Canelo Alvarez watched from ringside, and Benavidez used the moment to call him out once more: "I see Canelo in the building."

Professional Record and Titles Won

As of his win over Gilberto Ramírez on May 2, 2026, Benavidez's professional record stood at 32 wins, 0 losses and 0 draws, with 26 wins inside the distance, as reported by the Associated Press and theScore. Sources disagree slightly on his age around the Yarde fight, with some giving 27 and others 28; by his December 1996 birth date he was 28.

Major titles won: WBC super middleweight champion (2017, stripped in 2018 after a positive drug test; regained in 2019, stripped in 2020 after missing weight); WBC interim super middleweight champion (2022); WBC interim light heavyweight champion (2024), later recognised as full WBC light heavyweight champion; WBA "regular" light heavyweight champion (2025); WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion (2026). Earlier in his career he held the NABF junior light heavyweight title. He fights under the nicknames "El Bandera Roja" and "The Mexican Monster".

Sources

• David Benavidez, Wikipedia, accessed 2026-11-14
• David Benavidez apologizes for failed drug test, ESPN, September 2018
• David Benavidez stops Anthony Dirrell to win WBC super middleweight title, ESPN, 2019-09-29
• David Benavidez misses weight, stripped of WBC super middleweight title, ESPN, 2020-08-14
• David Benavidez dominates David Morrell with unanimous decision win to unify light heavyweight title, Associated Press via ClickOnDetroit, 2025-02-02
• David Benavidez knocks out Anthony Yarde in Riyadh, The Ring, 2025-11-22
• Anthony Yarde stopped by David Benavidez as third world title bid ends in defeat, Sky Sports, 2025-11-23
• Benavidez KOs Ramirez in the 6th to win the WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles, Associated Press via theScore, 2026-05-03