Uncasville, CT- Former WBC super-middleweight titleholder David Benavidez proved why he is considered one of the division’s top names. On the Showtime Championship Boxing card Saturday night, Benavidez became the first man to stop Ronald Ellis by way of an eleven-round technical knockout.
The 24-year Phoenix native, displayed a wide array of combinations that found their mark and showed why some consider him one of the most devastating punchers around. As heavy handed as Benavidez was, Ellis (18-2-2, 12 KOs) was just as game. He often stood toe to toe with Benavidez and would not give in despite being overmatched.
Ellis swept the first round on all 3-scorecards by out throwing (18 to 9) and landing more (72 to 42). That would be the only round in which Ellis connected a higher percentage of his punches. From the second round until the eleventh, Benavidez percentages surpassed Ellis’, and he won a large majority of rounds on the judges’ scorecards.
After the eighth, Ellis’ corner was concerned that he was taking too many blows to the head. Lead trainer Courage Tshabalala threatened to pull him out if he did not avoid more punishment to the head. Ellis did come out and was more active in defending himself as well as letting his hands go. However, Benavidez continued to land the more powerful and telling blows. After an onslaught of combinations, Ellis was steadily taking, the referee, Johnny Callas, decided he had to save the Lynn, Massachusetts native from himself. At 2:03 of the eleventh round, Callas waved it off.
“I could have moved a little bit more and not taken so many shots to the head. Hats off to him.”, Ellis said afterwards. In that penultimate round, Benavidez landed a whopping 45 of 56 power punches for a little over eighty percent.
Even Benavidez was impressed with his own effort after moving his camp into the higher altitude in Big Bear, California. “I wasn’t really tired at all. I think that’s what working in Big Bear does. Working in that high altitude makes your stamina crazy.”, he said.
As for who he fights next, Benavidez hopes to give the fights that the fans want to see. He said, “I want all the big guys. Speaking for the fans too, they would love to see me against all the big guys because as you can see, I love throwing punches.”. He further elaborated, “I love stopping people so me versus any big name would be an amazing fight. I want [Jermall] Charlo, Canelo Alvarez, Caleb Plant, all of them.”. Benavidez improved his record to 24-0, with 21 knockouts.
Also, on the card, Mexican knockout artist and lightweight contender Isaac Cruz earned a hard-fought unanimous decision over undefeated Argentinian Matias Romero. The fight was a roughhouse affair, full of clinching, wrestling, and even a tackle in the second round.
Cruz (21-1-1, 15 KOs) started the fight off charging in and headhunting until he started going to the body more in the middle rounds. As Cruz was coming, Romero (24-1, 8 KOs) was content on jabbing while moving and clinching throughout the bout. Cruz landed a blow that veered way below the beltline, and referee in the sixth, Harvey Dock, deducted a point.
Romero was very efficient with his punches. He landed 32-percent of both his jabs and power shots. But Cruz was the clear aggressor, and of his 552 punches thrown, 459 were power punches, landing 145 of them. The judges awarded the aggression, and Cruz was given the victory with scores of 114-113, 118-109, 115-112.
Romero took dispute with the results, “Obviously, I’m not happy with the decision. I thought maybe it was a draw. But I’m not going to argue.” “I did what I could. I think I could have worked a little more to the body and maybe grabbed a little less.”, he later admitted.
By winning, Cruz becomes the number one contender for Teofimo Lopez’s WBA super world lightweight championship. After the fight, Cruz took offense to Romero’s style of fighting. “He didn’t come to win. He was a very, very dirty fighter who had no interest in fighting with me.”, he said. Despite Romero’s tactics, Cruz was at least satisfied with the result. “I’m not happy about the style of the fight, but I am satisfied I took the victory home, and we’ve come to the number-one spot in the WBA.,” he said.
In the televised opener, former super welterweight title challenger Terrell Gausha of Cleveland earned a second-round technical knockout victory over Cincinnati’s Jamontay Clarke. With under forty-five seconds left in the second round, Gausha (22-2-1, 11 KOs) landed a well-placed counter right on Clarke’s chin, sending him to the canvas. Clarke (15-2-1, 7 KOs) arose with unsteady legs and beat referee Arthur Mercante’s count. Gausha went on the attack, backed Clarke into a corner, and unleashed a flurry of blows until Mercante waved the fight off at 2:49 of the second.
With the win, Gausha is still in contention for any of the world title. Speaking to the media after the fight, Gausha shared his thoughts, “I know I made a statement tonight. I put the division on notice. I’m locked and loaded and I’m ready.”
