Super middleweight contenders David Benavidez and David Lemieux will face off in a battle of big punchers Saturday in Arizona (Showtime).
David Benavidez (25-0, 22 KOs) vs. David Lemieux (43-4, 36 KOs)
Date: Saturday, May 21
Time: 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
Where: Gila River Arena, Glendale, Arizona
TV/Stream: Showtime
Division: Super middleweight (168 pounds)
Rounds: 12
At stake: No major titles
Pound-for-pound ranking: None
Odds: Benavidez 11½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
Also on the card: Yoelvis Gomez vs. Jorge Cota, junior middleweight
Prediction: Benavidez KO 7
Background: Two-time titleholder David Benavidez and longtime contender David Lemieux will fight for the WBC “interim” belt, which will move the winner closer to a major title fight. Benavidez is riding a streak of five consecutive knockouts, including a seventh-round
stoppage of Kyrone Davis this past November. Benavidez has been mentioned as a possible opponent for undisputed 168-pound champion Canelo Alvarez. He also has expressed an interest in facing Caleb Plant and middleweight titleholders Jermall Charlo and Demetrius Andrade. He lives in Seattle but grew up in Phoenix, not far from Glendale. Lemieux, a knockout artist from Montreal, has lost his biggest fights. That includes a KO loss to Gennadiy Golovkin in 2015 and a decision against Billy Joe Saunders in 2017. However, he has won five consecutive fights since the latter setback. He was last in the ring in June of last year, when he stopped David Zegarra in the second round.
