LAS VEGAS – David Benavidez’s promoter expects Demetrius Andrade to give his fighter more problems than Caleb Plant posed eight months earlier. (photo by Ryan Hafey)
Ultimately, however, Sampson Lewkowicz favors Benavidez to defeat Andrade by knockout before the start of the 11th round Saturday night at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino’s Michelob ULTRA Arena. Before Benavidez takes out the undefeated Andrade, Lewkowicz envisions the skillful, smart southpaw presenting challenges for Benavidez that Plant couldn’t during their 12-round, 168-pound bout March 25 at nearby MGM Grand Garden Arena.
“You cannot compare them,” Lewkowicz told BoxingScene.com in reference to Plant and Andrade. “Plant is a really good fighter, but the fighter he has in front of him now had a long amateur career and I believe Andrade will be more difficult.”
Plant boxed well during the first half of his grudge match with Benavidez. The bigger, stronger Benavidez eventually wore down Plant, prevented him from using his legs as effectively during the second half of their bout and beat him comfortably on two scorecards.
Judges Steve Weisfeld (117-111) and Dave Moretti (116-112) respectively scored nine and eight rounds for Benavidez. Judge Tim Cheatham scored it closer, 115-113, as he credited Benavidez for winning seven rounds.
While Benavidez definitively won their grudge match, Benavidez-Plant wasn’t exactly an action-packed bout befitting the animosity they directed at one another during the promotion of their fight. Lewkowicz expects Phoenix’s Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) and Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs), of Providence, Rhode Island, to provide more sustained entertainment in this Showtime Pay-Per-View main event.
“To me, it’s gonna be a fan-friendly fight,” Lewkowicz said. “Andrade is coming to fight. I give him my respect. I never wanted [David] to fight him. I told him many times that I would not fight him, but there was no choice. He needs to fight the best, Benavidez, and this is what happened.”
Andrade, 35, is a former WBO middleweight and WBA/WBO 154-pound champion who has sought this type of opportunity since he represented the United States at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The Providence, Rhode Island native is a technically sound boxer who can fight effectively from long range, but he also likes to mix it up at times.
Andrade will also be the first left-handed opponent for Benavidez in the seven years since the WBC interim super middleweight champ stopped Denis Douglin (then 20-4) in the 10th round of their August 2016 bout at 2300 Arena in Philadelphia.
Benavidez, 26, is still a 4-1 favorite, according to BetMGM sportsbook, to win the last of four fights that will be part of a pay-per-view telecast scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT; $74.99).
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.