← DOUBLE COVERAGE PODCAST
DOUBLE COVERAGE PODCAST
David Benavidez Says Canelo Passed Him The Torch: “It’s My Era Now, I’m the Face of Boxing”
00:37:59
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- [00:00]
David Benavidez
Jake Paul is out here about to fight Anthony Joshua. Honestly, and I'm not even lying right now. That gave me more confidence for myself too, because I'm thinking like, bro, that's a super dangerous fight and he had no fear. If that man does not have fear in his boxing career, how am I going to be scared of anything in his boxing career? I've been boxing for 27 years.
- [00:19]
Deon Silent
Ready to bet, ready to flex. Deanna is at you see where it's at. Come tune in. We on stream with a check. You can Michael Parson get you a set. Some of my coverage. Deon silent, feel like a Ricky. He'll be gonna cook you a lock up. Eat it for dinner. We double.
- [00:33]
Mystic Zach
What's up, guys? Mystic Zach here. Welcome Back to episode 18 of Double Coverage. Today I'm honored to be joined by the most avoided man in boxing, the Mexican monster, Mr. David Benavidez. How are you doing?
- [00:45]
David Benavidez
I'm doing great, my brother. Thank you guys for inviting me here. And I just feel blessed to be here. We're about, like 10 days out for the fight, so I'm just very excited. Yeah.
- [00:51]
Mystic Zach
You seem switched on.
- [00:52]
David Benavidez
Yeah, no. Yeah, well, I've been. I've been. I've been locked in for. Since January. It's about to be five months, and I've been working extremely hard. You know, this is a very big pivotal moment in my career and in my life. And I think after this fight, this is why I passed that threshold and to finally become the face of boxing, you know? But first things first. We're gonna go in there, give a great performance, give the people what they want to see, and, you know, come back home with two more titles.
- [01:17]
Mystic Zach
That's exactly what I was gonna say. It seems like this weekend signifies a passing of the torch, right. For the Mexican people. Cinco de Mayo weekend, you're the main Mexican fighter headline this weekend. It's a big deal.
- [01:28]
David Benavidez
Yeah, no, yeah, it's. It's. It's been a long time coming, bro. I've been. I've been professional for 13 years. The first time I won my first world championship, I was 20 years old. I'm 29 years years old now, so it's my first time fighting on Cinco de Mayo weekend. So it's definitely is. It does. It definitely feels like the passing of the torch, you know, but like I said, I don't want to get ahead of myself too much. You know, first. First things first. Going there, get the job done and get the fans what they want to see.
- [01:54]
Mystic Zach
No, this is your toughest challenge yet. I mean, you guys have a combined record of 79 and 1. How ridiculous is that? And then Zerto is a guy. First of all, you're moving up a weight class and it's the biggest jump out of any weight class. It's 25 whole pounds. So you're really challenging yourself. And you already had this fight set up. You announced it after your last fight.
- [02:11]
David Benavidez
Yeah, I think it's been apparent that I've been trying to make the biggest and best fights happen. Some things have happened that I haven't got those opportunities, you know, but still we, we, we make the best of what we have. Know, obviously we wanted a Canelo fight. That fight didn't happen. Also, I won the belt, the WBC title. I was next in line to fight for all the belts, to unify the belts against Demitri Beel. That didn't happen either. So instead of me just staying around in light heavyweight and saying, you know what, I'm going to just do a regular title defense, I said, no, let me challenge myself. You know, this is something we've been working on behind the scenes for like about two years now. And I know Sudo Ramirez really well. I've been worked with him since I was 17 years old. And I said if there was an opportunity that I could get that fight, I'm shooting right up right away. And you know, the opportunity presented itself and it could have, it couldn't possibly be on a better date. You know, two Mexican fighters. This is the first time there's going to be a cruiserweight championship fight with two Mexicans and it's on Cinco de Mayo. So, you know, there's a lot of heat on this.
- [03:09]
Mystic Zach
Normally Mexican fighters are not as big as you.
- [03:11]
David Benavidez
Yeah, yeah. So this is, this is something different. You know, there's no. This is the biggest. As in size and weight wise, this is the biggest Mexican championship fight there's ever been. You know what I mean? So going up to cruiserweight, you know what I mean? And I'm very excited. I'm very excited to showcase my skills and I'm 100% ready.
- [03:28]
Mystic Zach
And it seems like you're also targeting that outside media to get you that push to become the face of boxing. We see you on magazine covers, we see you on people's streams. You're running with Damian Lillard. How has that transition been from not being the guy that only the hardcore fans know about and tout, but being someone that everyone knows and really becoming that star?
- [03:46]
David Benavidez
Yeah. So it's Definitely putting in the work, know, getting the right people around me to put me in a position to do this, you know, shout out to my. My pr, you know, y. Our company, they've been working really hard. They've been giving me these. These photo covers and, you know, I've been doing my part as well, you know, doing a lot of interviews, you know, English and in Spanish and, you know, just putting myself out there, just trying to work on the other side of boxing. You know, at the end of the day, it's not just about the physical and just training now. It's about, you know, doing these interviews, doing these interactions, doing these collabs, doing the streams. You know, I did one with Oblivion, did one Ryan Garcia Neon. You know, I met up with Damian Lillard. I've been meaning I'm meeting up with a lot of people. So I just been doing the other part of this job that's going to get me past that threshold.
- [04:32]
Mystic Zach
When you're with the hall of Famer like Damian Lillard, are you picking his brain about kind of things that he goes through in his life?
- [04:38]
David Benavidez
So, no, not really. Me. Me and Damian Lillard, we're like, we're friends from a long time ago. I met him because he's a massive boxing fan. When I moved out to Oregon, you know, if I'm a little embarrassed to say, you know, I first seen him at the gym. He was training at my friend's gym. Sam Aaron, he's my strength and conditioning trainer. He's over there. I didn't know who he was. You know, I mean, I don't watch basketball, but what I really respected about Damian Lillard is, you know, he gave me the respect and the attention. Like, he was really into what I was talking to, you know, without even knowing me, you know, he gave me the respect. And he was already Damian litter, you know what I mean? This was like 2019, so he was already at the height of his career. So for him giving me the respect and listening to me like that, and he just made me feel good about myself. You know, after I left, I'm like, who is that guy Damien Lillard? And I looked him up. Oh, this guy is big. He's one of the greatest basketball players of all time. So that just made. That just spoke volumes about him and his character. And, you know, ever since then, I've seen him. I see him here and there, and he comes just like the other day we went to go run Mount Charleston. He's a. He's a great dude, man. He's a great competitor, just one of the greatest NBA players of all time. And I want to, obviously, honestly, I want to see him in a celebrity boxing match because he trains harder than everybody. So he's got hands, he has hands. So I want to see him knock a celebrity out. But he's a great dude.
- [05:53]
Mystic Zach
Would you work his corner, walk him out?
- [05:55]
David Benavidez
I would, I would do that. I'd definitely do that. But yeah, you know, when he comes and stuff, we just talk boxing and stuff. You know, we talk about his stuff too. So he's a, he's a great dude, man. He's a good friend.
- [06:06]
Mystic Zach
No, he's an absolute legend. And he's been putting in work for 15 plus years now in the NBA. I mean, he's headed into, I don't know, year 16. It's a kid that came out of Weber State. Have you thought about how long you're going to be fighting for or when you would be satisfied with your career?
- [06:21]
David Benavidez
To be honest with you, bro, I look at my career, I've been professional 13 years already. I say let's do another 15, you know what I mean? At the end of the day, I really, I really thought about this a couple years ago. I'm like, what would I do if I stopped boxing? I would still have to work, I still have to make money to pay my bills and pay all this and that. So I thought, why would I try to go into another job when I could just maximize myself in my position in boxing, make sure I'm always training, make sure I'm at my best and I can maximize my career for another 15 years, you know what I mean? I love boxing. Every day is a blessing. I wake up, I run, I train with my people. You know, we here at the gym, we're having fun. I beat people up, you know what I mean? I'm training, I'm teaching my son how to box, you know what I mean? So my whole family and my next generation, my kids coming up, you know, they're gonna definitely be in boxing. So that's why I'm just trying to prolong this for as long as I can, you know what I mean? Even when I'm done retired boxing, I'm gonna be in boxing in one way or another. So for my career, I think I have another 15 years left. So what does that put me at?
- [07:26]
Mystic Zach
He 44.
- [07:27]
David Benavidez
44, yeah. And, but that now 44 is young because now you see boxers retiring at 50 years.
- [07:32]
Mystic Zach
Pacquiao just fought for a world title 47. And you got to remember, the bigger you are, right, the more longevity that you have. And he arguably won that fight. They rolled in a draw.
- [07:40]
David Benavidez
Exactly. So, I mean, I think the life of a boxer is prolonged a lot now because of just, you know, the hyperbaric chamber, there's stem cell recovery, there's red light there. There's so much stuff to make sure that your body stays performing at its highest possible, at the highest amount, the highest level. You know what I mean? So I'm really taking that into accountability. And now I'm just, you know, I mean, I know I could do another 15 years. No.
- [08:05]
Mystic Zach
And when I speak to like, Gerardo, who works with you, he says, Dave is the hardest worker that I've been around the sport. He's a beast. He's a monster.
- [08:11]
David Benavidez
Yeah, man. Because at the end of the day, what I've always learned or what I've learned in my whole career is that nobody's coming to save you. You have to put in the work. And at the most of the time, you have to work harder than everybody else because, bro, there's a lot of. There's a lot of good fighters out here. There's a lot of fighters that are working hard. So how do I surpass these fighters that are working hard? I work even harder. You know what I mean? So every day I say the fights are won in the training camps. We've been training since January. It's five months. Nobody does that. You know what I mean? And I'm. Everything is good. And so I just, I try to outwork everybody and like how Gerardo told you there's nobody who works harder than me. And I, I definitely, I, I believe that 100 in my soul that nobody works as hard as me.
- [08:55]
Mystic Zach
And that's the key to getting the top of box. There's a lot of guys with talent, but not everyone has that work ethic.
- [08:59]
David Benavidez
Yeah, it's honestly, it's the overtime. And it's not even about boxing either. You, if you put in overtime in your job, you're going to be better than the majority of other people. It's just really just how much, how far are you willing to push yourself? How much, how much, how far are you willing to follow your dream to, you know, to make you work as hard as you can? And, you know, that's always the thing. I've. That I've seen that personally and I've in. Because at the end of the day, nothing I do besides training matters in that ring on that night. So if I under work and I'M tired or I don't have this, I don't have that in the ring. It's my own fault. I can't blame my dad, I can't blame my trainer, I can't blame nobody. It all falls on me. So, you know, I gotta put my big boy pants on. I make sure I work harder than everybody and you know, I mean, it's worked for me so far, so I'm gonna keep doing that.
- [09:45]
Mystic Zach
I know you're one track minded, we're only 10 days out, but talk to me about your life outside of boxing. What type of things do you like to do for fun?
- [09:51]
David Benavidez
To be honest with you, bro, my life, my fun is my kids just, you know, just playing around with my kids, taking care of them, making them happy. Honestly, it's not even about me no more. I work extremely hard in the gym to make sure that my kids have everything they need so they could be successful in their life and they could be happy in their life. And you know, that's, that's how I find my peace, my joy, my happiness, you know, by just being around my kids, being with my wife, and giving them the time that I wasn't able to give them when I'm in training camp. Because when I'm in training camp, like I told you, I'm training for five months. So that whole five months, it's not that I'm isolated, but I'm just in a different mindset because I'm working so hard. So after boxing, I give all my time to my kids and my wife.
- [10:30]
Mystic Zach
Talk to me about the difference in this training camp, moving up to cruiserweight versus a camp at super middleweight or light heavyweight.
- [10:36]
David Benavidez
Yeah. So to be honest with you, there's really no difference. The only difference is that now I don't do got to do a weight cut because I've been, I've been on weight for like, you know, since last week. I'm in uncharted territory because that's never happened to me because usually the last, the last week I'm losing like trying to shed like 13 pounds. And now that I don't have to do that now I could just, you know, I could just focus on recovering my body, resting a little bit more and, and all that energy is definitely gonna, it's definitely gonna show in the fight.
- [11:06]
Mystic Zach
Have you tried to bulk up and add some strength at all or are you worried about maybe doing that and having to move back down or how do you balance that?
- [11:13]
David Benavidez
No. So well, with me I was already like at 200 I was. I started at 210, so I'm already a bigger guy, bro. So I don't really have to bulk up like that. Because in boxing, it's not about the muscles win. What it is about is about the combinations, punch placement, head movement, defense. And you always have to react. You have to have to react to the opponent's action. So if I add muscle, yes, it's going to make me hit a little bit harder. And we have added muscle, but we added the right muscle, so it's more lean muscle. I'm working a lot of my combinations. You know, I was blessed with speed, and God blessed me with speed. So what I've noticed now for my last. My past couple fights, it's not the one single shot that hurts you, it's the punches and bunches and combination that hurts you. You know what I mean? So. And this guy, there's a lot of opportunity to hit him with a lot of combinations because he's slower, you know what I mean? He's bigger. And I just don't think his. My speed, my movement, my defense is going to be too much for him. And I'm definitely going to overwhelm him and drown him with pressure and volume.
- [12:11]
Mystic Zach
That's your signature, obviously, the blistering hand speed, the combinations, the volume punching. This guy, Zerto, he's a huge guy, too, like you, but he's used to fighting the bigger, slower guys. Do you think that plays into an advantage for you as well?
- [12:23]
David Benavidez
Yeah, definitely, because there's no boxer that he's never faced. He's faced, he sparred me before, but he's never faced nobody like me in the ring. And what I noticed this camp, I was sparring bigger guys. The beginning of the camp, I was sparring heavyweights. Easy. It's very easy. It's very. I'm not saying. And I don't want to take that in context and have people say like, oh, yeah, all the heavyweights are easy. Not all of them are easy, but the ones I was working with that kind of had the same speed as Sudo. It was way easier for me, you know, just for me, from my. My IQ and the way I see punches and the way I see defense, you know, I was able to get away from all that, throw all my combinations in there and then hurt these guys. So I'm expecting that. But also, you know, you also got to expect unexpected just to be prepared for anything.
- [13:07]
Mystic Zach
Did that give you confidence, this camp to be like, okay, I can be like Roy Jones Jr. And eventually challenge at heavyweight.
- [13:13]
David Benavidez
Yeah, I mean, I wasn't thinking about heavyweight, to be honest with you. I was in, in the sense of thinking of Roy Jones. I was thinking of that because I have combinations, I'm going to be able to display speed like that, but I'm not thinking about heavyweight at all, you know, I mean, it's been a topic when we're talking about it, but right now I just got my, my sights on cruiserweight, and then I have unfinished business at light heavyweight to handle.
- [13:37]
Mystic Zach
Yeah, I mean, obviously there's a couple savages down there. One that for one reason or another, the fight didn't get made, but another one you called out Artur Better Bev and Dimitri Bivol. How do you think that's all going to play out with you?
- [13:48]
David Benavidez
I mean, they're gonna have to come see me eventually, you know what I mean? So just this boxing game, you have to have a lot of patience, you know, if the fights don't happen now, doesn't mean that they're not going to happen. It just means that you have to give it a little bit more time. But also, like I said, bro, like, you get to a certain point where just regular fights is not enough for you. You have to take calculated risks. And it's like in life, anything, sometimes when you're at a level, you have to take a risk to get to that next step. And this was my risk, you know, I mean, these are, these calculated risk and the risks are risk because they're not 100 certain that you. It might go your way, you know, I mean, what makes what you can make 100 certain is your thought process and how much belief you have in yourself. But I want to set myself apart from all these other fighters. And the way I do that is taking out the savages, taking out the monsters, you know, I'm the monster, but I'm the monster hunter as well. And I mean, it's not no easy task for me. I'm talking about, you know, going beating the Bivol, then beating better BF then B, whoever. After that, I really in my heart believe I could beat them. But it's going to be a tough task beating Zerto.
- [14:51]
Mystic Zach
Yeah, I mean, all the hardcore guys, guys are really in sport. They call me in that fight guy I made, I don't know, he might have bit off more than he can chew with this one.
- [14:58]
David Benavidez
But that's the thing too, is that that's how you measure your greatness. You know what I mean? I'm going against a unified champion I have no fear in this. You know what I mean? I'm 100%. I have supreme confidence in myself, and that's how it's gonna have to be, you know, that's how I'm gonna show people my greatness. And I got Surdo. After that, I'm getting bevo. After that, I'm getting better. Bieven. There's no other people, there's no other guys that you hear calling out the biggest fights like this. And I'm not only calling them out, I'm gonna make this happen.
- [15:25]
Mystic Zach
No, nobody else is calling out guys like that. I mean, they're trying to get the biggest name for the most amount of money with the least challenge. Right. And that's the same pattern you see with all those guys, but not you. And I think you've also learned, hey, these guys are going to avoid me. I'm going to have to force my way in there.
- [15:39]
David Benavidez
Yeah. And also what happened with me is I never, like, in my head, I was never after a big money fight, you know, I was never after a big money fight because I knew once you get your job done and you clear. Clear the way of all the great fighters, the money's going to come after, you know what I mean? You don't have to always worry about the money. That being said, what I was worried. Well, not. Not worried, but what I was focusing more on is beating the best competition. Once you beat the best competition, there's no more fear in there, bro, and you have extreme confidence in yourself. So once I beat all these other guys, okay, it's smooth selling for the next couple fights. All I got to do is get through these hard fights, you know, I mean, everything else is, you know, I mean, it's going to take care of itself. So that's the way I see it. I see it like as I. I'm going to have to do it eventually. Let me do it now while I'm in my prime and I have the most spirit and the most confidence in myself right now. And let me get through these guys and then we'll see what comes after on the other side. But imagine, bro, once you get the biggest fights, even if you don't get the money, the biggest money, then, then and there you do the performance. The performance speaks itself and your stock is just going to keep going.
- [16:49]
Mystic Zach
Absolutely. And I spoke to a legend. He was my last boxing interview. Mike Tyson. He dubbed your nickname the Mexican Monster. Huh?
- [16:58]
David Benavidez
He was op. He gave me the honor of getting a nickname by Mike Tyson. And that's I'm always going to think of it, you know, Mike Tyson, he's so special for me. And so for so much reasons, because he was. He used to train at the gym that I trained at when I was a little kid in Central Boxing Gym. I used to see Mike Tyson and I took a picture with him. A little kid. When I was a little kid. And then I had had a podcast with him and he told me that he was a fan of me. And then he gave me the name the Mexican Monster. So he was always going to have. He has a special place in my heart. And yeah, I'm just very excited to have the support from Mike Tyson. And also it's crazy how it happened because I've always been a Mexican Monster since I was a little kid. I've always fought like that, always fought like that. But just for getting this name by Mike Tyson, it feels like us. It came organically. This is exactly what I am. And I'm just. I'm gonna just continue to make Mike Tyson proud and live up to that name.
- [17:54]
Mystic Zach
No, there's nothing more organic than Mike Tyson nicknaming you in boxing. You know, we spoke about the fight. He was excited. We're chatting it up last month in Vegas.
- [18:03]
David Benavidez
Yeah, no, yeah, he's. I'm very excited for him. I think he said he's going to come and I'm just very excited just to. Just to have him. The support of a legend like that,
- [18:14]
Mystic Zach
no, it doesn't get any better than that. And then to be able to get that confidence from Mike Tyson nicknaming you, that. That's gotta, like, fuel you too.
- [18:22]
David Benavidez
Oh, yeah, it definitely does fuel me. And in your brain, in your thought process, you have to have to make goals for yourself, and then you have to check off the boxes of how those goals look and how it feels. And with Mike Tyson giving me the name, the nickname for what I've had planned for myself and I'm checking out the boxes like, this is exactly where I'm going to. The way I. When I thought of this as a little kid, how it's looking. Mike Tyson giving me a nickname, all that. I'm exactly where I have to be at in my life. And I'm just going to keep thriving and keep working hard until I accomplish more.
- [18:56]
Mystic Zach
Have you ever gotten recognized or DM by someone that you would never expect to be a boxing fan?
- [19:03]
David Benavidez
Odd Odell Beckham Jr. Came to my last meet and greet in Phoenix, Arizona, and I've always been a big fan of Odell Beckham Jr. He's a great football player. And that. That really caught me off guard. You know, he came, he knew everything about me, and he was being, like, extremely cool. But, yeah, other than that, the past couple years, I think since I fought Caleb Plant, I've had a lot of people, countless celebrities, countless athletes, and they just extended their hand showing love, and it just makes me feel really good.
- [19:31]
Mystic Zach
No, it's always, like, surprises. Some of the people you would never expect that are keeping an eye on you and they know everything. Right. They've been keeping up with the trip.
- [19:37]
David Benavidez
Yeah, it definitely is a trip. But like I said, it's also. It's just. It's more fuel to my flame and, you know, just motivates me that much more.
- [19:44]
Mystic Zach
Yeah. Since we last spoke, we've had some other big fights. We spoke about Jake Paul. You showed your support and kind of the ways he's able to promote. And then he went out there and fought Anthony Joshua. How much did your opinion of him change that he was willing to accept that fight and get in there? Because that's. I mean, that was insane. I'm like, dude, what are you doing? But he went out there, he walked the walk.
- [20:02]
David Benavidez
So honestly, and I'm not even lying right now, that gave me more confidence for myself, too, because I'm thinking, like, bro, Jake Paul is out here about to fight Anthony Joshua. Like, that's a super dangerous fight, and he had no fear. If he is. If that man does not have fear in his boxing career, how am I going to be scared of anything in this boxing career? I've been boxing for 27 years. You know what I mean? So I. I respected a lot from Jake Paul. You know, I've always respected him. He's a great dude, and he's a smart guy, a smart businessman. And that. That right there, he just earned way more respect for me and from a lot of people in boxing, too, because he went in there, he fought a pretty good fight. You know what I mean? He was catching Joshua. You know, he won a round, he won a couple rounds. Obviously, Joshua, him being who he's been, took him out. Yeah, but do you expect that's Joshua. But for him to last all those rounds, you know, really surprised me, and I gave him a lot of respect.
- [20:57]
Mystic Zach
I've been with Jake since the beginning of his boxing journey. And I always told everyone the difference between him and everyone else is his toughness.
- [21:02]
David Benavidez
Right.
- [21:03]
Mystic Zach
His resilience. And he told me after the. Before the Chavez fight, he's like, yeah, after this I want Joshua. Like, yeah, let's work on some other names. Jake. And he's like, no, no, I want Joshua. It's David versus Goliath. I'm like, dude, Jake, we were just in the backyard five years ago. You're going to fight Joshua. And then I saw him in training and sparring and he was doing great with these, these heavyweights, dude. Cassius Cheney and some English guys and some huge guys. And he's moving around and making the miss. I'm like, oh, wait, he can do something here.
- [21:30]
David Benavidez
Well, you know what it is about that? I respect that a lot because I go through the same thing. And this is what you have to do to make it to the top. And whatever it is you're doing, you have to sometimes be delusional and you have to believe your own delusion. You know what I mean? I've seen Jake Paul. He does affirmations every day. That thing he does prayers. And I was watching his stuff. And that's exactly what you need to do. Because everybody, whatever it is that you try to do, if you say something crazy, everybody's. You can't do that. You can't do this. But if you really believe in your soul that you could do something, what. What everybody else says does not matter. It only matters about how much you believe in yourself and also how much you work. Also, it has. That has to be like that you. The one without the other is just too much delusion. You know, if he's just delusion and no training, no, you're. You're done. But he's been putting in that work and he's turned himself into a professional boxer. And I respect. That's why I've never said anything about him, because I respect his work ethic. He works, he works harder than some professional boxers. So everything that Jake Paul is about, I respect. You know, I mean, I have no disrespect for that guy. He's a great guy. He believes in himself 100%, like every man should. And I think a lot of people can learn a lot from him.
- [22:41]
Mystic Zach
He's a dog. And you're right, he works on the mental as much as the physical. One of my best friends, Marcel Klein, is his hypnotist. He literally goes, stuff works.
- [22:49]
David Benavidez
Yeah, stuff works. That's a self delusion too. If you have somebody come, because I've worked with hypnotist too, shout out to Russ, what's up, Russ? And sometimes you, bro, you need every ounce, every ounce of belief that you could put into yourself. You need that. Especially when you go, when you're doing these big things like this and sometimes the, the favor might swing in your way, you know what I mean? But like I said, it's you know, big shout out to Jake Paul, man. And every man needs to have that belief and sometimes that self delusion in himself like that to get to where he's at. And how much did he make his last fight? 93 million?
- [23:25]
Mystic Zach
Yeah, that's the reported number.
- [23:27]
David Benavidez
That's crazy.
- [23:27]
Mystic Zach
That would be nice, right?
- [23:28]
David Benavidez
That's crazy. But he knew he was going to do that. I mean, and he got himself to that point. Not only did he get himself to that point, but his promotion company, you know, he did that himself, you know what I mean? So he's smart all the way around. I respect him.
- [23:41]
Mystic Zach
And then you said you a great job. Now Netflix has tabbed them to promote this mixed martial arts event.
- [23:45]
David Benavidez
Yeah.
- [23:45]
Mystic Zach
This coming month.
- [23:46]
David Benavidez
So that's what I like also I like a lot of things about Jake Paul. He's just, he does a lot of cool stuff, bro. I think he's doing this stuff from women's boxing. He's doing that stuff like you just mentioned right now. He's just, he's a good advocate just for fighting in general, you know what I mean? He does a lot for a lot of fighters, a lot of athletes. So he, he's, he's good for the sports. Honestly.
- [24:06]
Mystic Zach
I heard you want to get into the promote promoter game. Is that true?
- [24:09]
David Benavidez
Yeah. Well, like after it's smart for the whoever, whoever it is watching, right. If you're a boxer and you're signed with a promoter, you get to a level sometimes you have to put the work in too. And they see that you have value, that you call your own shots, you make your own promotion company and you start to co work with the promotion company. Obviously that's because you get a bigger bag, you know what I mean? You're more in, involved with the business side of things and for you to want to get to that next level, you have to do it. So that's, you know, my contracts are almost over and that's the next level. And I'm getting this ready not only for myself but for my sons in the future, you know what I mean? I want to have, I want to handle everything, you know, I want to be the promoter stolen their fights. I want to be doing this, I want to be doing that. And, and this is going to be a learning experience for the next 15 years. So when it's time for my Kids to go, I already know how to do everything. I love it.
- [24:58]
Mystic Zach
When I was with Mike, it was at his amateur boxing tournament. And the same thing inspire him is the next generation, the youth, the young kids coming up.
- [25:06]
David Benavidez
And also I feel like this is how I could get back to the community of boxing. You know, I, I, I have a eye for good talent in boxing and sometimes if you could be a great boxer, but if you don't have somebody to take you there or finance your stuff in the beginning, you're never going to become world champion. You know, I mean, talent can only take you so far and you need to work with the right people or just, you know, learn everything yourself, you know what I mean? So I got all my guys here, I got a couple fighters here, I train with and you know, this is all for us. You know, at the end of the day, this is a family. We're really family oriented and I really care about all the guys I work with. And you know, they're not my fighters, they're my family.
- [25:43]
Mystic Zach
No, boxing is like any industry. Like you got to get discovered by someone to be someone, right? Like Drake and Lil wayne or Eminem, 50 Cent, Mayweather and Tank. Like there's always that predecessor.
- [25:53]
David Benavidez
And then also what I've been blessed enough to, you know, to make a lot of money in boxing and I've signed the right contracts and we've done the right negotiations and I feel like with this I could give my people the right piece of what they deserve. Because boxing is a dirty game, but you're not always going to get what you deserve. Oh, you don't have somebody in there that cares about you. You get ripped off really bad. And a lot of, a lot of the fighters, they don't know how to read the contracts. They don't even have a lawyer to go over the contract. They just see the, they see the price of how much they're going to get, if they're going to give them, was it in advance or something like that. And they sign for so much and then later when they try to look at the contract, then when, when the million dollars comes, oh, I only end up with this how you signed the contract. It's your fault. You know what I mean?
- [26:37]
Mystic Zach
I mean there's court battles right now and May, there's in court right now with Showtime, that just came out.
- [26:41]
David Benavidez
But it's just not even with boxing either, just with contracts, you know what I mean? If you don't have some, if you don't know what you're doing, with contracts, bro, it can entertainment make or break you. Make or break you. So you have to be really careful.
- [26:51]
Mystic Zach
You also had your brother to look at, right, in his boxing career and kind of as a role model coming up, right?
- [26:56]
David Benavidez
Yeah, my brother has always been a role model to me, since a little kid even. Just like his character. I've always liked his character. He's always a tough guy. He's punked everybody, you know what I mean? So I'm looking at, oh, that's cool. I want to be like that, you know what I mean? And I use that to give me this energy in this character I built in boxing because, you know, at the end of the day, I want to be a good man, respectful man, but I also want to be the man that if don't play with me, you know what I mean? Because it could go really bad for you. So you have to kind of forge your character and build this, you know, sometimes. You know, my brother used to make me fight a lot when I was a little kid, just for fun. That's cool. You know, I mean, so like, that turned me into a determined to a savage, turned me into a dog, you know, so. But at the end of the day, every man has to have that switch where you need to protect yourself. And it's not good to let people talk to you any type of way they want to talk to you. So you have to learn to defend yourself physically, verbally, mentally. And, you know, my brother has always been a strong character, strong role model for me in my life. My dad has also been a strong character for me in my life. And yeah, man, I have a good support system, really good support.
- [28:03]
Mystic Zach
That's exactly what Boston does for people. It did it for me as well. And you see it in the gym growing up also. That's why I love that Mike was getting into it because he's such a great ambassador to get people that wouldn't even think about boxing start boxing and gain that confidence. And Jake, with boxing bullies, I mean, there's so many great opportunities that come from starting the sport of boxing.
- [28:20]
David Benavidez
So I feel like boxing is also like a representation of life, because no matter what way you look at it, you have to put in the work, you have to put in the ot you have to work hard in everybody. Sometimes in all of our careers, we get to the point where it's like playoffs or championships, and sometimes there might be a person outperforming you. So, you know, you got to have this little rival with him that make sure you get him out the way. But if you take like, if you take the lessons that you learn for boxing, not everything you won't get good over one day, over one week, over one month, over one year. It takes time and patience. 10 years, 20 years. But in other careers, in one year is, nothing's going to change. Whatever it is that you do, whatever industry you do, sometimes you have to put 10, 20, 25 years until you get that big break, you know? Know what I mean? And that's what boxing has taught me. And I feel like everybody, that's why a lot of people fall in love with boxing, because it's a representation of so much things outside of boxing. You know, you got to fight for you, your beliefs, what you want to be. Not only do you got to fight for your beliefs, you got to show everybody that you're that, you know what I mean? And I think that this goes a long ways in every category in life, career, love, life, whatever it is that you're trying to do, you know what I mean? It's always everything is a battle and you don't have to put 100% of yourself and get lost in your work for you to achieve what you're trying to achieve.
- [29:46]
Mystic Zach
Absolutely. Who are you watching in camp on film? Are there any specific go to's you've always gone to since your early days?
- [29:55]
David Benavidez
I could tell you specific fights. One of my go to favorite fights is Prince Naseem Hamed versus Augie Sanchez. It's one of the best fights. It was one of my favorite fights, ends in the fourth round, but it was just a war back and forth. But I like, I like to watch Prince Nasim Ahmed, Roy Jones Jr. James Toney, every. All these fighters I watch, they all have different elements of the game. So one fighter will be like, I'm very specific if I want to learn how to do a body shot, I'll watch Julio Cesar Chavez or I'll watch Gennady Golovkin. If I want to see how you throw combinations, punches and bunches and actually have them be effective is Manny PACQUIAO, Roy Jones Jr. If I just want to watch somebody who has a lot of heart, you know, tremendous heart and a lot of power. Mike Tyson, you know, I mean, so I, I kind of, I've been watching boxing my whole life, so and so I know the fighters I like, I know what type of fight and that's why you guys see my style so versatile. I do so much stuff because I watch so much different types of fighters. But I also if in boxing I made it my homework to every day I gotta watch at least two fights. Because sometimes that's how your mind stays learning. You don't even have to try or work anything you watch. You. If you watch it for so long, the body's gonna pick it up on its own and it's gonna be like muscle memory. You do it like that. And that's why I give myself all this work. So like besides training six hours a day, I'm spending another six hours a day. Six hours a day. I do three workouts a day, break that down. Morning run, boxing, and then strength and conditioning. And then also not even the time I use for recovery too. So this is, this is a job all day. So jobs, it's physical recovery and then mental for just about watching the boxing and then also a mental game when my kids are there at the house crying, you being annoying. So. So it's just, it's just, it's a mess. This is all, this is full day of work. It's a full day of work. Yeah.
- [31:53]
Mystic Zach
When you were describing the fighters you like to watch, one name caught my eye. You said, Gennady Golovkin. And then my mind jumped to, if you could fight any fighter in history just to have the honor to share the ring with them, who would it be?
- [32:06]
David Benavidez
Yeah, I sparred Gennady Golovkin when I was a little kid. I think as out of, out of every fighter, I probably would want to fight Gennady Golovkin. That would be a great fight. Only because of what Gennady Golovkin represented. And you know, it's closer to my time period, so it's a little bit more realistic.
- [32:23]
Mystic Zach
Yeah.
- [32:23]
David Benavidez
So I think that would, that would be my all time dream. Fight me versus Gennady Golovkin.
- [32:28]
Mystic Zach
No, when he said that name, my mind like I was like, whoa, that would be a sick ass fight if we got this.
- [32:34]
David Benavidez
It was a sick ass fight. It was because I sparred him a lot. It was.
- [32:37]
Mystic Zach
Any tape?
- [32:38]
David Benavidez
No, there's no tape. All those training, all those sparring sessions I had with them, it actually allowed me to elevate my game and get to a different level because Gennady Golovkin was a killer. Dude was trying to kill me every single round. So for me not to get killed, I'd have to defend myself.
- [32:52]
Mystic Zach
And how old were you?
- [32:54]
David Benavidez
I was, the first time I sparred him I was 15. And then the last time I sport him I was 19. But I was his main sparring partner. So what people don't understand in life, for you to get the best version out of yourself, you have to put yourself under stress. That's. That's. It's the same thing with every category, every work, everywhere. I. When I mean put myself in stress in boxing, I mean going up against the best fighter I could possibly go up against, because this guy either has more talent than me or as much talent as me. So I'm gonna be getting hit with some shots. Once you get hit with some shots, then that your. Your body goes in the fight or flight mode. So that means your body is under stress, so you're trying to make the best decisions. In other things, it's not like, kind of as intense as that, but like, let's say you have to a deadline to do something. You're like, oh, I only have a couple days left. Yeah, that puts your body in stress. You're like, okay, I don't have no time to waste. We have to get to work. So that's what I'm saying, that for you to be the best version of yourself, you have to put your body under some type of stress. And with Gennady Golovkin, he put me under a lot of stress, so I had to learn real fast. But I used that. I carried that through my whole career. And those were the best sparring sessions I've ever had in my life. And this helped me be the man I am today.
- [34:10]
Mystic Zach
Neon and I streamed with Justin Gaethje last month. And then Gage was like, we're getting in the ring. I was like, I sparred him a couple rounds.
- [34:17]
David Benavidez
Gage is no joke either. G be beating the out of people.
- [34:20]
Mystic Zach
I know, I know. He wasn't bad, though.
- [34:21]
David Benavidez
He.
- [34:21]
Mystic Zach
He really. He bloody my nose. But he wasn't like, Strickland, like, yeah,
- [34:25]
David Benavidez
yeah, I seen Strickland. Yeah, he didn't. He beat up Sneo. Sneo. Yeah.
- [34:29]
Mystic Zach
You got him bad, bro.
- [34:30]
David Benavidez
Sometimes that's kind of like a little bit unnecessary, cuz. Like, what do you get out of that? You know what I mean? I mean, I. Sometimes I get it. You're hitting so many. Get him down with a little body shot. Let him feel it. But bloodying somebody like that, he must. He must have not liked Sneako.
- [34:45]
Mystic Zach
Yeah. There must have been a personal thing that was crazy because you don't see the professional fighters. Usually it was. They showed a replay of him in a fight was the same exact shit he does in the UFC. Like, he went 100.
- [34:55]
David Benavidez
Yeah, yeah.
- [34:56]
Mystic Zach
He stayed up.
- [34:57]
David Benavidez
That's why I couldn't believe he didn't go Down. I give Sneako some credit for that because he beat the out of him but he took it like a man. Yeah, now imagine what that did for his conference I'm at. Even Strickland couldn't take me out. Yeah, I mean so I'm sure he's riding high on that confidence but that sometimes it's unnecessary, bro, cuz it could get dangerous. We're trained to knock people out, we're trained to hurt people, you know what I mean? Sneo does stuff for fun so he's. I get you trying to beat somebody up but you, you can't take it to that extent always.
- [35:25]
Mystic Zach
Yeah, no, that was, that was definitely wild. One last thing before we get out of here. What's one thing about you that nobody knows?
- [35:34]
David Benavidez
Oh, I don't know man.
- [35:36]
Mystic Zach
I really.
- [35:39]
David Benavidez
The stuff that nobody knows about me, I really try to keep it private, you know, I'm not really in. I don't like people knowing all my business and stuff like that.
- [35:46]
Mystic Zach
Sports that people wouldn't expect that you like or any TV shows or movies you're watching or.
- [35:52]
David Benavidez
Bro, all my time goes to boxing. Yeah, all my time goes to boxing. Not from this, it's not going to boxing but me thinking of boxing but I think this will surprise people. I'm a really. I like techno, Techno music, I'm. I like raves so I don't think that's surprising.
- [36:10]
Mystic Zach
Yeah, I wouldn't expect that.
- [36:12]
David Benavidez
I've been a big techno fan for a long, long time so you know, I like the. I like that type of.
- [36:16]
Mystic Zach
You may hit a rave after you win this fight.
- [36:19]
David Benavidez
I don't know. I've been. But I've been to Ultra, I've been to Beyond Wonderland, I've been to Edie, I've been everywhere, bro. I love those things. And the thing about, the cool thing about that is like it's unexpected. People hear me that I'm into that stuff but the, the atmosphere there is just so cool, bro. Like everybody's just like everybody's cool, everybody's high fiving each other and stuff like that. So it's, it's, it's some good energy and that's why I like being around it too because there's some good people. I met some cool, some cool people and stuff and you know, the energy has been amazing. So I would definitely like that stuff.
- [36:51]
Mystic Zach
I love it. That's one thing no one would expect. The Mexican monster, the most avoided man in boxing challenging for two cruiserweight titles. Saturday, May 2, any last message for the fans, the people.
- [37:04]
David Benavidez
I just want to tell everybody, thank you so much for the love and the support. I mean, we're 10 days out. It's going to be a great performance on my end. You know what I mean? It's going to be the best performance for me thus far. And like I said, I just. I don't want people to waste their money. I don't want people to be like, why do. What I do is because at the end of the day, the people pay their hard earned money to go see a fight. They don't go to see two people running away from each other. They want to see fight. They want to see people knock each other out. And I'm going to give you guys, I'm going to make your money's worth and I'm going to go in there, I'm going to give you guys exactly what you want to see. May 2nd is going to be a war, but the Mexican monster is going to leave with those two belts.
- [37:40]
Mystic Zach
You heard the man. May 2nd. Tune in live on pay per view.