Benavidez Recalls Rocking Bivol

American Light Heavyweight boxer David Benavidez has recalled a sparring session with Dmitry Bivol, saying that shaking the champion back then proved something important about his own abilities.

“Why does it even matter? Because if you can hurt someone in sparring, you can shake them in a real fight too.

I sparred with him a lot. I rocked him in our last sparring session — and I was only 22 years old at the time. He was way more experienced than me. But I still had enough experience to do it.

Now I’m smarter and an even more complete fighter,” said Benavidez.

David Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) will face Anthony Yarde on November 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Dmitry Bivol is not expected to return to the ring until 2026.