Two-time world champion David “El Bandera Roja” Benavidez (24-0, 21 KOs) took a hard-fought eleventh round TKO against “Reckless” Ronald Ellis (18-2-2, 12 KOs) in a WBC super middleweight title eliminator on Saturday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Benavidez progressively beat down the very game Ellis to get a referee’s stoppage. Time was 2:03.
In a WBA lightweight eliminator, Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz (21-1-1, 15 KOs) scored a twelve round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Matias Romero (24-1, 8 KOs). 5’4 Cruz pressed the action and hammered out a 114-113, 115-112, 118-109 win. Cruz was deducted a point for a low blow in round six.
Super welterweight Terrell Gausha (22-2-1, 11 KOs) scored a second round TKO over Jamontay Clark (15-2-1, 7 KOs). Gausha dropped Clark with a right hand counter. Clark beat the count, and the bout was waved off during Gausha’s follow-up barrage. Time was 2:44.
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Sweet manicured hands Plant, AKA Pillow fists, would never ever stop Ellis even if they fought 175 rounds. I know styles make fights but there is nothing pillow fists would have to hold Benavidez off.
Benavidez grinds down and stops miss sweet manicured hands in 10.
I was hoping Benavidez would win by TKO/KO in 6-8 rounds. I give Ellis solid credit for trying to hang in there with Benavidez, but Benavidez’s offensive weaponry was too much.
In order to build leverage/pressure on the 168 pound champions, Benavidez has to continue making 168 and continue winning by TKO/KO. Maybe Benavidez can make a play against Aidos or Chudinov.
Benavidez’s patience and discipline will get tested because it may take time before anything develops for him.
Benavidez’s defense is the component I worry about. He has a bad habit of walking right in and simply pulls his head back to deflect punches. A polished puncher like Alvarez would capitalize on this flaw and rack points up on the score cards. Benavidez is heavy handed and can inflict pain. However, a good defense is mighty important when any opponent faces the elite in the division.
Solid performance by Benavidez against a very game opponent. Benavidez was in control the entire fight and continued to walk down Ellis. Ellis was outgunned but answered back with some nice combos of his own, landing cleanly on occasion, maybe even enough to prevent Benavidez from going for an early round KO. In the later rounds he got loose and got off some of his Porky Medina KO type flurries, but Ellis withstood and defended himself nicely, or at least nicely enough to not get KO’d by them. I would have liked to have seen Ellis go to the body more, then go upstairs, but honestly, it would not have mattered. Benavidez was the dominat fighter and Ellis fought the best fight he could have.
Sorry but Benavidez should have had that cat Ellis out earlier. Anyway he did it the hard way and got the KO.
Plant in 2!
Benavidez leaves himself wide open for the hook to the chin, something Plant should/will do to Benavidez if they meet putting him to sleep. You dont need to power on a hook to the chin to drop someone.
Plant in 2? Lolol you obviously know very little about boxing Roy.
I like Plant and think he can remain champion for a while-as long as he steers clear of Benavidez. Plant lacks firepower so just how do you come to the conclusion of Plant in 2? Never mind you probably just have a man crush on Plant I can totally see you twerking for him!
Once Benavidez gets his combinations going, he’s so fun to watch. Some of his shots are arm punches, but others are straight from the shoulders with a lot of power behind them. His shots to the body are debilitating.
Ellis put up a good fight and got his licks in, but was just outgunned. Benavidez didn’t always cut off the ring but was able to reach Ellis with every punch in his arsenal. He walked Ellis down all fight long and eventually started landing flush without any return fire. Ellis actually landed more jabs but it didn’t matter because he was outlanded in every other category. The stats showed something like 43 to 0 punches landed by Benavidez in the 11th, which is just unheard of.
It was actually a good night for both fighters in that each showed what he can do. However, Benavidez punished Ellis in every round after the 1st. The fight should probably have been stopped earlier because Ellis was taking too many head shots in the last few rounds before the end.
I really would like to see Benavidez fight Canelo at some point in the foreseeable future. Benavidez will not stand there like a punching bag like Callum Smith did. Canelo punches hard and puts a lot of body behind his shots but his punch output is normally not very high. As he rose in weight, he more often than not throws one or two punches at a time while Benavidez counters and attacks with combinations to head and body. Benavidez throws pinpoint punches with a great deal of accuracy and I expect him to be a lot busier than Canelo in a fight. If Canelo can’t hurt or back Benavidez up, it will be a long night for him.
A few thoughts.
Benavidez has a great engine, accuracy and work rate.
Ellis is one tough fighter, much respect, hope this fight didn’t take too much out of him.
At 24 Benavidez should have a bright future ahead of him, be nice to see him improve his defence a bit more – be great to see him in there with some of the other top contenders (aka champs) Canelo, Plant, Saunders or Jacobs, to see who is the best.
Very good fight I was impressed with Benavidez hand speed and power he’s a bit robotic lacks balance, footwork and defense all of the skills that Canelo already has. Benavidez might be more successful at the 175 Division where those deficiencies might not matter as much and hope that his power takes care of business.
Another casual who just started watching boxing last week. He’ll be able to get away with that at 175? That’s probably because you know of no one that fights up there, since you just started…. you know.
Yeah, Benavidez has a bit of an orthodox style, but it seems to work just fine for him. The commentators kept saying he was switching to southpaw, which I didn’t really see. It looked to me like he was just punching off the wrong foot! He also tends to stand directly in front of his opponent, not giving an angle. Guys like Canelo, Plant, and Saunders, all masterful at creating and exploiting angles, may be able to take advantage of that. Then again, although technically flawed, maybe it’s a technique that uniquely works for Benavidez.
I think Alvarez would be the main threat to Benavidez. Saunders and Plant could out box him, but not sure they have enough “crack” in their arsenals to keep him at bay. The issue is…Once Benavidez senses Plant or Saunders could not hurt him, he will cut them off and move straight in pounding them to the body off the ropes. Alvarez has enough power to keep Benavidez honest in certain scenarios and even take his confidence away.
On a side note, I read yesterday on another website that Fury is taking time off from boxing since many things in the heavyweight division are in limbo. If this true, may be months before we see anything “big” develop. Have a great weekend.
Benavidez for me is the top dog bring Canelo now, wait another fighter maybe a bum will get Canelo ahead of David? Why? Politics
First, a good offense can be your defense. David Benavidez does many things wrong, but he’s such a Tazmanian Devil in there that it might not matter. It really will take a fighter with power to discourage him. As good as Canelo has looked at 168, I’m not sure his power would give Benavidez pause. It’s definitely a fight I’d love to see!
Second, making weight seems to be the biggest test for David in my mind. The fact that he did this time out and was still every bit the whirling dervish in the late rounds as he was early is bad news for everyone at 168. Still, with Canelo trying to unify the belts one has to think David might be waiting at least 12 months for the Gingerbreadman.
3rd, I’ve called for Canelo to clean out a Division rather than jump around cherry picking paper titles or faded Champions. I’m very pleased with his planned schedule to finally do that and it looks like he’ll do that by the end of the year. Anybody calling for David Benavidez over guys like Saunders and Plant need to remember that he only has himself to blame for not already having a clear spot in line for the money train. HE is the one who lost his belt on the scales. Hopefully, this win against Ellis makes him truly a mandatory and maybe we’ll get a PPV worthy fight for Christmas!
Another bag. Even though Ronald Ellis began the fight pretty good, with movement and answering every Benavidez punch with similar tenacity, he slowly waned. By the 7th round Ellis was a shell (like all others). The real competition is t interested in a kid who boasts being the “best”, carrying belts into the ring when he has none, and threatening to ko everyone he’ll face. Champs like Caleb Plant and even non-champs like Edward Berlanga won’t stand in front of the soft bodied while he pushed their defenses off their faces to land his own jabs and left hooks. Plant will dance circles around him and he’ll find out really fast that Berlanga hits just as hard without carrying the extra tits. Granted, Berlanga hasn’t faced anyone yet either (or Plant), but they haven’t stood in front of an opponent waiting to be hit yet without pounding their own fists into that opponent’s face or liver… Bring on someone like Eubanks, Jermal Charlo, even Mungia (from 160) to check the validity of this kid who says he’s the best at 168, before wasting canelo’s time with him. At this point Canelo will play the pounding butcher to Benavidez’s body and soften the boy like a slab of beef…