Sometimes, you get a fight that ends up exactly where you thought it was going to go, but the route to get there was very different. David Benavidez vs. Demetrius Andrade was a bit like that. Yes, in the end, Benavidez’ flashing hand speed and relentless pressure had Andrade falling apart in the middle rounds and led to the ref and his corner combining to stop it because of the attrition.
But Andrade, far from trying to stink out the joint by jabbing and staying away, decided to take the fight to Benavidez from early. That looks like a mistake, but it might actually have been the best shot he had in what was a very tough matchup for him. Let’s take a look at the details.
The Breakdown: How did David Benavidez break down Demetrius Andrade
So, let’s jump into it right from the off: why did Andrade decide that the best way to weather the storm that is David Benavidez’s volume and pressure was to jump right at him and let him get started even earlier than he normally does? Well, we can’t be sure unless he tells us, but the answer, quite likely, lies in Benavidez’s length, and his hand speed.
You can see it in the first round, in which they were testing the waters and Andrade did focus on his jab and moving around. Simply enough, he couldn’t get into range to throw his jab without being in range of Benavidez’s own and even of a stabbing right hand to the body. And for all the talk of his slickness, he wasn’t really able to move defensively and throw the punch. More or less any time he tried to throw he got tagged, and although he wasn’t hurt he was off balance on a few occasions and had to wobble back a bit.
Now, in the early rounds it isn’t actually atypical to see Andrade get in close and throw a reasonable amount, but it’s not generally a physical affair, nor does he sit there for extended combinations. It’s more get in, throw a few, avoid the returns and get out. But if he couldn’t get out after throwing a jab, doing so from much closer in was going to hard.
Whether it was a direct decision based on that information, or a potential plan he already had in the locker, he decided on a different strategy. He flashed it at the end of the first, ending the round with a flurry, albeit one that landed on the gloves and arms. In the second, he came out and stepped to Benavidez straight away, not just throwing but pushing and shoving, trying to force him back.
And that was key to the plan, and why it wasn’t as wild an idea as it might seem in hindsight now it hasn’t worked. If you can’t keep away from David Benavidez’s punches, you might as well try to stop him from throwing them, and the best way to do that probably is to force him to go backwards, fight in a way he’s not comfortable with. It’s been noted that David Benavidez isn’t the smoothest with the footwork, and getting him off-balance and stepping off is as good a potential weak spot to aim for as any.
The problem ended up being that even if that route is there, you have to be either much stronger than Andrade or much slicker with the skills. The pushing part simply didn’t work — after a couple of efforts where Benavidez, unready for the tactic, did give ground, he simply set his feet before Andrade arrived and after that the physicality achieved nothing.
Skillswise… well, two things. The first was that the other thing Andrade tried was, once in close, to step around his opponent in close, get to a better angle, and push and shove from there. If you’d outlined that before the fight that’d have sounded like a really solid plan — but every time he tried, Benavidez turned with him smoothly and had a punch ready as Andrade set himself. That was definitely unexpected — if Andrade was definitely supposed to have the advantage in one area, it was the footwork. But instead, what was meant to be a safe route to escape was met with punishment every time.
With that road closed to him, and backing out directly not safe either, he was left with having to bite on his gumshield and trying to live with Benavidez in the clinch and the pocket until the volume paused or the referee broke them. Problem is, Benavidez is a monster in that area and Andrade… simply not that good. It wasn’t just a physical difference either.
David Benavidez is great not just because of his volume, but because that volume is accurate, reacting and aimed punch-by-punch at what his opponent shows him. His defense too is excellent, a reactive guard blocking punches not just because his arms are long but because he adjusts to catch whatever he sees coming at him. Andrade couldn’t break through that with any consistency — and his own defense relies more on head movement that he couldn’t maintain beyond the first couple of movements.
That movement was also disrupted by Benavidez’s frequent bodywork, which didn’t just drain the tank but on a few occasions had Andrade freezing up and wincing a bit, opening him up for punishment upstairs. Andrade was also working the body, but not only did it not have the same effect but because Benavidez defense works with his hands as much as his movement, they were in place to block the follow-ups even if he had frozen up a bit.
The knockdown at the end of the fourth was the beginning of the end, though the fight went on two more rounds after that. It was also further evidence as to why perhaps being in very close was his best plan — because he did try to close out the round by darting in and out and exchanging at mid range, and he got clocked repeatedly. He was already wobbling a bit before it happened because he’d leaned into shots he’d thought he was avoiding twice in the previous 30 seconds or so.
So when the actual hit came, it didn’t take a huge one. It was a good right hand, catching Andrade static and on his heels a bit, but the delayed reaction — more normally seen from body shots — suggests he was already a bit out of it and that was the shot that sent him over.
He recovered in the sense that he no longer looked wobbly after the round break, but he took a beating. The fifth was bad for him, the kind of round that some scorers might have given 10-8 on damage alone. The sixth wasn’t quite as bruising, but it wasn’t competitive either — all tactics out of the window by then and Andrade really just trying to survive.
The referee declared he wasn’t going to watch another round of that, and the corner agreed there was nothing more to be done. They waved it off, and Benavidez had his victory.
The Future: Where do David Benavidez and Demetrius Andrade go from here
What Benavidez wants is the same answer as we often have in this section: Canelo Alvarez. In many eyes he’s the most rightful candidate for that payday — clearly the best other fighter in the division Canelo holds all the belts in. And an exciting, still-young fighter who could be the next big money star if given the opportunity. But the grapevine suggests the plan for Canelo was always Jermall Charlo in May, and though he didn’t look great, the fact that he did return and win on this card may mean that goes ahead.
If he does have to wait, the most interesting option for him is David Morrell, the 25-year-old Cuban who holds the subsiduary version of the WBA belt in this division. They don’t call it the interim, but he’s essentially in an equivalent position to that which Benavidez holds with the WBC. He’s another flashy, exciting fighter who’s been calling Benavidez out for a while now. It’s definitely one he might consider, as having both trinkets, while not ‘real’ belts, puts him in a great position if Canelo ever gets stripped or vacates the division.
The other option is he could leave the division himself. As a huge super-middleweight, he’d be bigger than most light-heavyweights anyway, including the two top fighters there, Bivol and Beterbiev. Neither would be easy fights for him, but they would be great spectacles and he’d fancy his chances of proving himself. Ultimately, there are a lot of options.
Andrade has to consider which division he wants to fight in. The strength and size difference he faced may encourage him to move back down, but given that Benavidez is unusually big for SMW, he might decide he isn’t going to face that problem all the time. Given how keen he was to not fight Janibek Alimkhanuly, the current top dog at middleweight, he might decide the pickings are richer here even if Canelo and Benavidez are beyond him. We’ll see.
Whatever he does, he’s unlikely to run into anyone with quite the volume, pressure and sheer relentlessness of David Benavidez any time soon.
