January 28, 2025 • 48 mins
This week, Andre sits down with the one and only David Benavidez, the Mexican Monster, ahead of his highly anticipated mega-fight with David Morell. In this candid conversation, Benavidez opens up about his intense preparation for what could be the biggest fight of his career, revealing how he plans to take on the rising Cuban star. He also explains why he never considered ducking the challenge. The champ also takes us back to his roots, reflecting on his early boxing journey, the profound impact of his father, and the struggles he overcame in the early days of his career. It's an inside look at what makes Benavidez the fighter and man he is today. And, of course, no interview with the Mexican Monster would be complete without a bold callout to Canelo Alvarez. Will we finally see the long-awaited showdown between the two? Benavidez also shares his thoughts on retirement and what the future holds for him.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
What's up, everybody.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Welcome back to another episode of the Art of War Today.
My guest is one of the hottest young fighters in
the game. He's talented, he's outspoken.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
He's also one of the most fears.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
He's a two time world champion now campaigning in the
second weight class in the light heavyweight division, and he
wants to become a two division world champion and dominate
another weight class, all before he turns thirty years old.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
He has a big fight.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Coming up February first against the Cuban David Morrell and
Las Vegas.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
I want to welcome to the.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Show David the Monster Benevida.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
But I appreciate you opening up camp.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Man.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
I know it's not easy doing these kind of interviews,
but man, let's get right into it. What's been working
for you in this camp and what's been good about
this camp?
Speaker 4 (00:43):
So it's been working for me?
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Is this camp?
Speaker 3 (00:45):
You know, I think everything is just you know, come
at the perfect moment. I'll have momentum on my side
of how big fights and now coming into a second
weight class. My body feels better. I feel in better shape,
you know, I feel like my body is growing, you
know more, you know, and I'm getting into my prime now,
and I just wanted you know, that's the only thing,
the thing that's better than this camp than anything. I know,
what's on the other side of this fight is greatness,
(01:08):
So I definitely want it. I'm hungry for this and
I let that leading me into this camp in this fight.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Now read somewhere where you said, you know, no injuries
in this camp. We're always dealing with something as fighters,
but to have a camp where you it's just about
the work, it is a beautiful thing.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
So no injuries, you injury.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
It's amazing, you know, Especially for my last camp. I
was coming off probably the worst injuries I've ever had
in any fight, you know. I had torn tendent, fracture, knuckle,
I got a cut over my camp No, my last
camp camp three weeks before the fight, had ten stitches
of my eye. So for this camp, like you say,
you don't got to worry about injuries. You don't got
to worry about my hand going to get hurt, this
(01:44):
and that. So this camp has just been amazing. It's
been phenomenal, you know, the energy with me and my
father and my brother, the whole camp. It's been amazing.
So you know, I'm really looking forward to have a
great performances fight.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
What is it about David Morrell? You know what makes
him dangerous?
Speaker 3 (01:57):
He's a great fighter. He was a technical fighter. He
is the school Cuban fighters, tall, long arms. You know,
on paper, this fight looks like the most dangerous fight
for me, you know, besides anybody else in the in
the weight division, but for me.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
Man, you know yourself.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
You know, there's just some fighters that want that challenge,
that they want to challenge themselves. And this is why
I got there. I chose this fight because it looked
like the hardest fight on paper, and I want to
challenge myself.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
We don't go a little bit deeper into the relationship
with y'all a little bit later, but before I move on.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Is the bad Blood real? Like you really don't like it?
Speaker 4 (02:28):
Yeah, you really don't like it? It's definitely real. I
don't like them.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
I don't like them all, and just just with these fights,
I think it just brings that out in you. I
think the more you dislike somebody, the better it is
for the fight and for the cells.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Yeah, I mean that's what boxing is about.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
I want to take it, take a little bit of
a journey back to Phoenix, Arizona, where you're from, you know.
And it was interesting when I was, you know, studying
for this interview that you started. You started boxing at three, yeah,
three years and did you start so young?
Speaker 3 (02:53):
I started because my brother was a fund that actually
first started boxing, Jose and then my dad, Jose been
his senior, was training us in the garage. So when
I was like two years old, I would go to
the garage. You know, you're a little kid. Your dad
sends you off like, oh, I'm training junior, I'm training
your brother, and then me going into the garage every
single day. It turned into like you know what, list
come in here and we'll train. And that's really how
(03:15):
my my story got started. The only difference between me
and everybody else that you know, I've always been a
bigger dude. I'd like to eat, even since a little kid.
So it was never in the amateurs because I didn't
make the weight the way, but I was always sparring
the best fighters. By the time I was thirteen years old,
I was sparring with nothing but pros in North Hollywood.
At the wild Card fourteen, I sparred my first world
(03:36):
champion latif Coyote Kid Chocolate Kelly Pavlick. Then fifteen, I
sparred a Golufkin when he didn't even make his US
debut yet. So I've been seasoned, bro, I've been That's
that was my amateur pedigree right there, sparring all the
best world champions that were in California.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Now, your father said that boxing came into your guys'
life as an accident.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
Does what does that mean my boxing came into her
life because I think my dad, you know, my dad,
he came from Los Angeles, and when we moved to Phoenix, Arizona,
my dad was involved in a lot of gangs back
in Los Angeles. So I think in his mind, you know,
he always thought that something was gonna happen to him.
So he the way he explained it to me, he
always wanted to train us so we could be tough,
(04:17):
you know, in case something happened, so my brother could
take care of us, or I could take care of
my little sister and my mom and stuff like that.
That was an exit plan. But then that became the passion,
our passion for us. I remember back then, they used
to make I used to walk in the room. When
I was like four years old, my dad and I
used to see him with.
Speaker 4 (04:33):
The cassette tapes of the.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Title boxing, how to throw a jab, how to blog,
how to do this and that. So my dad. I
give it all to my dad. Now that I get older,
you know, I'm matured a lot. Back then, I thought
my dad just hated me. He just wanted me to
train because he didn't like me, supposedly, you know how
kids think. And now that I think about it, bro,
I'm really grateful for my dad because if you take
my dad out the question, none of this is possible.
My dad, he devoted his life to making us the
(04:57):
best that we could possibly be. And I'm just grateful
for having that man in my corner.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Man pops, uh, he said, I read somewhereere. He said
he didn't even know if he could do it. You know,
he was so inexperienced, and it never cut his teeth
on a particular on any fighter where he was like,
I don't even know if I can do it, and
he ended up hitting the ground running and obviously it
worked for you guys, if the boxing relationship never came
into play, what do you think your life would have ended.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Up being for you and your brother.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
To be honest with you, bro, I feel like with me,
I don't. I don't think my life would have been
anything good. You know, I probably would have been in Phoenix,
Arizona doing a lot of dumb stuff to people on
the Phoenix Arizona. Do you know there's there's types of
people where you hang out with a certain type of crowd.
You know, me, we never went to school, We never
did none of that. We were hanging around with the
hooligans and you know, the hood loves and stuff like that.
(05:41):
And even like coming into my career coming up when
I was younger, you know, I still stayed in the
bad path and that really got me in all the
problems I was in. But you know, like I said,
boxing is my savior. Boxing is my savior. If it
wasn't for boxing, I don't know what I'd be doing.
I don't know what my brother be doing, I don't
know my dad be doing. So you know, I'm very
(06:01):
grateful for boxing and for everything that is given me
and giving my family.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
When did you become aware of like Passa's background and
the stuff he had been When it started making sense
to you.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
When I was. When I got probably like the thirteen
fourteen years old. You know, you start catching on the stuff,
You start seeing stuff, you know what I mean, You
start seeing your environment. And you know, my dad thankfully
for us. You know, he really dedicated his life, you
know when he left California, left everything behind. But I
don't know, there's just just some things about kids like us.
You know, you hang out with certain type of people
(06:33):
and sometimes that looks cool. You want to do stuff
like that, but you just end up getting yourself into problems.
You know, even when I was like when I was
younger and stuff, you know, I got myself into a
lot of problems. But wanting to become better for me
and my family, you know, I made the change for
my life.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
You ain't got to go into detail, but like you
and jose y'all played in the streets a little big,
you guys dabble trying to figure it out.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
Well I didn't really. My brother did what he did,
but I didn't really dabble on that stuff though. The
thing I'm referring to is, you know, getting into drugs
at an early age, you know what I mean, at
early age that kind of messed me up.
Speaker 4 (07:06):
But because you got to.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
Understand with boxing, when I was training with my dad,
I trained all these months getting ready for a fight,
and then you only got like a week off, So
you supposed that you want to go hang out with
your friends, do whatever you did. So that's kind of
what messed me up. That getting into drugs, you know,
and you know, and then I got tested positive for cocaine,
you know, when I was twenty years old.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
But like I said, Bro, a lot of that stuff.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
Sometimes you need to hit rock bottom for you to
actually cement your feet into the ground and find your
faith and find who you really are and find with
your real purposes in life. And I don't take nothing.
I'm not ashamed of anything I did. I'm just happy
things went the way it did and I found myself
and I became better for me myself and my family
and in my career.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Man, I see it, Bro, I see the maturity, I
see the growth. And you know, I'm gonna talk.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
A little bit about a little bit more about.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
That in a minute when we get to that point
in your in your in your timeline. But you know,
when you're twelve years old, your parents had just split
a couple of years prior, and really your brother was
the main one everybody was focusing on. Right at that time,
everybody was like junior, junior, junior. They ended up going
Pops In and your brother ended up going to LA.
You stayed back with mom? Why didn't you go when
(08:15):
they left?
Speaker 3 (08:16):
So my parents they got divorced when I was seven,
So I was back and forth a lot. But I
had been training this whole time, and like I said,
boxing was put on me, not because it's something I
love to do, well it turned into that, but because
my dad always made me train. So my parents' divorce
and they had made my brother and my dad made
the decision that they're going to California train with Freddie Roach.
(08:37):
So I'm like, you know what, I'm I'm done with boxing.
I'm gonna just stay with my mom and I'm not
boxing them. I'm tired of it. Because at the time
I was like ten eleven, but I had like eight
years training. So I stayed in Californa. I mean I
stayed in Arizona, and in that year, bro I went
up one hundred pounds. I was eating taco bell, eating
McDonald's everything. I was eating like six times a day
(08:59):
and I was one seventy. I went up to two
fifty two fifty. And then one day I looked at
myself in the mirror. I was going to school. I
was in seventh grade, and I didn't recognize myself, and
I'm like, this could either go one or two ways.
I could say I don't care about anything. I don't
care about nobody says I'm gonna continue this way and
I'm gonna hit a point in no return will probably
(09:20):
be five hundred pounds. Or I can make the decision
to go to California and try to lose a weight
and then just you know, put them pull my own
to boxing.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
And that was that was the decision we made, you know.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
So by the time, it's funny because my brother, like
you said, my brother, he was a big He was
a big ticket in California.
Speaker 4 (09:39):
Know, everybody was talking about him.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
So my brother and my dad will tell everybody at
Wildcart like, no, you think Junior is good, we got
another one. He's gonna come. His name is David, and
he's the real He's the one that has a lot
of talent as well. I get there and I'm two
hundred and fifty pounds, and every people are looking at
me like this, this is the one that you said
it was good, Like, man, get out of here. So
then it's an interesting point this because that's I've led
(10:02):
that moments like that always leading my career because nobody's
ever believed me, believed in me, even since I got
back I when I got to California, I had about
ten years boxing, and I had talent, but because the
way I look, people always ripped me off. So then
my dad would start pulling me to spar I think
I had sparred an olympian. An olympian in California. The
(10:23):
first time I sparred, and everybody's like, oh, no, I
to take he's fat, little kid, he's nothing, He's not
this and that. So that beat beat the dude, beat
the brakes off the dude. Then I started getting my
respect and I went in there with the pros, and
then everybody's starting to see like, man, they weren't lying
about this kid. This kid has a lot of talent.
But it was always it was always the same thing.
No matter how good I did, people would be always
(10:44):
be like, oh he's fat, Oh he's not. Then you
know we're gonna beat it. And then I kept getting respect,
kept getting respect. That's why I like with David Morrell. Now.
It's funny because he says the same thing every other
fighters told me, like Caleb Plant, Demetro Soandre. He's flat footed,
he's squared, he has no he has no talent, this
and that. So I've always let that anger fuel my
(11:05):
fights and fuel my career, and even to this day,
you know, it's still working for me. That's that's the
frequency I found, and it's allowed me to go in
there and you know, destroy all my opponents.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
It's amazing how every fighter's got that like it's something
Your thing may be different than this guy's thing, but
it's something that you held on to for years. And
then when somebody starts talking like that, it triggers that
thing again. And it's almost like it's almost like that
fire that's always kind of burning and it burns at
different levels depending on what's going on with them. When
somebody puts that gasoline on there, I'm right back where
(11:34):
I was. But going back to you know, when you
was with your mom, your brother was really the catalyst.
Though he came back, he visited and was like, bro,
you you coming with with us to California and he
got into it with your mom and it was a
whole big thing. And when you got there, tell me
about was that the Gonadi gluffkin a situation.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Or were you in Big Beer when this was?
Speaker 3 (11:54):
This was two years later when I Sparkle Luff and
I got there. You know, first of all, the first
thing that we did was shut off the weight. It
took me like about a year and a half, but
I got down one hundred and ninety one hundred and
eighty pounds something like that, oh fourteen.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
But you had a growth spur too.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
Saw. That's the funny thing that once I went out
there and started losing weight, I got tall. I got tall,
and when I went to California, I was like five
seven and then I ended up being sixty one six
y two. So it was just a blessing in disguise. Honestly,
I think that w was not. I think that was
the best, the best decision I've ever made for my life.
So when I went out there, I'm just focused, focus, focused.
(12:32):
And then we go up there to Big Bear and
then we're getting sparring up there because my brother is
about to have a big fight. And then my dad
tells Abel Sanchez, like, do you have any any buddy
for David? So, yeah, I just have this guy that
came from Kazakhstan. And I remember, I'll never forget Galufkin
was on the other side of the ring.
Speaker 4 (12:50):
I was over here. He's like, yeah, that's Glufkin over there.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
Bro. He gave me the coldest look I've ever I've
ever had anybody look at me. So me, I didn't
know who he was. I'm like, Dan, this guy is
looking pretty serioious. But then my Dad's like, no, you're
not going there to spar him. I'm like, alright, I guess,
but my dad. My Dad's always known, Bro. He's always
even though it's always been hard sparings, he's always put
(13:13):
me to push myself to the limit. And that's what's
made me who I am today. Because these sparing sessions
were sparing sessions. There were real fights. So I sparred
one time and they were super impressed with us that
I kept going back. That I was his main sparing
partner until I was like nineteen or twenty. The last
time I spared him was when he fought Daniel Jacobs,
and I remember we'd go up there and he'd be
(13:34):
beating everybody up and he'd make people where the body
pads and they remember they gave me one there, like
here's his body? What is this for? So gluf Can
doesn't hurt you to the body. I'm like, Bro, glove
Can hurts me to the body, then I shouldn't be
in there, Like he's not going to hurt me. And
I was the only person not using that. And it's
just glof Can is a great dude. I learned a
lot from him being up there in Big Bear and
(13:56):
it's just a lot of experience.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Bro.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
I'm working hard. You know, in boxing, nothing is given.
You have to earn that greatness and you have to
earn that hard work. And I'm just very happy with
the work I put in over these years.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Where did the Canelo phone call come in?
Speaker 2 (14:12):
Like during that time, because they had called and said, man,
y'a all in camp on share our secrets.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
So I was I was gonna go. I was sparring
with glufckin and I was gonna go spar with Canelo
the next week after that.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
He's in Big Beer too.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
No, I don't know what Canelo. I think it was
in San Diego. This was I was like eighteen eighteen somewhere,
So I was gonna go spar him, and then we
got a phone call. They called. My dad was like,
you know what, we don't need your spar We know
you're working with Glufckin. We don't want you to give
away a secret, my man, secrets, if anything, I'm keeping
those for myself. I'm not gonna give us nobody but Canelo. Man,
it's been a topic for us for a long long time,
(14:43):
and you know, hopefully it's done looking like it's gonna
happen right now, But hopefully we can get that fight happened,
because I, in my opinion, that's gonna be one of
the greatest fights in Mexican boxing history.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
I believe so too.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
Man.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
It would be a tremendous matchup man, for many reasons.
You had fifteen amateur and you're only sixteen years old
when you turn pro.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Why turn that early with that little experience?
Speaker 3 (15:06):
Because for me, like I said, we had been working
so much with the Professional Fighters World Champion, I feel
like I was ready, you know, I feel like I
was ready and I didn't want to waste any more time.
Speaker 4 (15:15):
And I just wanted to go straight to the pros.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
You know, for the first couple fights, seven fights, you know,
you build your record up. You know, you go to Mexico,
you get you get the sense of the little gloves
and all that. So, I mean, I feel like that
was a better move for me. And also amateur fighters,
if you go to all the amateur tournaments, they have
a different style than the professional fighters. I'm not saying
(15:38):
that they're not good or nothing like that. They're good,
but they're an amateur style. Is for an amateur style.
Once you start sparring professional or you start working with
the professional fighters, you know there's a certain pace you
got to move. You know, you can't do everything the
first two or three rounds. You gotta be smart about everything.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
So the beginning you started in Mexico, but then bro,
it was it was a four year track. Yeah, and
then here you or one of your first world title.
You you finally get that title at that young age,
and four years ain't that long? Like you got to
be an elite dude to win it for I think
I was like six or seven before I had my
first my first one. What was that moment like to
get that strap for the first time after only four.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Years before we start that. You know, it was it
was hard for me coming up. It wasn't hard because
I was putting in the work. But once I got
to like twelve fights, nobody wanted to sign me, you know,
and there was I was like eleven and oh with
ten knockouts and stuff. So I'm like, I'm kind of frustrated.
I'm like, man, what was going I'm doing everything I'm
supposed to do. I don't want nobody signing me. And
I got I went to I went to the Virgin
(16:36):
Islands and I started Julius Jackson. That's for when he
was getting ready for Luskenteki. Julian, I love you, but
I put it on him. I put it. I put
it on him the first day I went and.
Speaker 4 (16:47):
You know, his his.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
His trainer called Samson Luca to say, hey, I got
a dude here that just put put a beating on Julians.
Speaker 4 (16:57):
You need to take a look at this guy.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
You need to sign him. So then that's where everything happened.
That's when my career changed. So that I got I
signed with sam s Lucawitz and I signed with PVC
or it was showtime. At the time and started getting
these bigger fights, getting these bigger fights, and then that
Porky Madina fights would really put everything on the map
for me, you know. And Porky Medina at that time,
he had fought James de Gael and he gave James
(17:20):
de Gaell a close fight.
Speaker 4 (17:21):
A lot of people thought that Porky.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
Madina was on that he won. So me going in
there and being Porky the way I did just gave
me supreme confidence. Gave me supreme confidence. Then this takes
me to the world title fight, you know, and the
world title fight for me, it's it brings up a
lot of mixed emotions because when I was training three
weeks before my uncle died, you know, it was close.
Speaker 4 (17:42):
I was really close to my uncle.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
So he died and I won the fight, but it
was just you know what I mean, It's just I
was still dealing with that, you know, I was still
hurting inside. But honestly it was it wasn't as good
as I you know, winning the first hour, and you
know you could deal with that.
Speaker 4 (17:57):
Then you win the titles. It's like mixed emotions.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
Obviously I'm grateful for winning the title, but it wasn't
good for me, to be honest with you. But you know,
at the time, I was still dealing with that, you know,
and this is one with to bring up about the cocaine.
You know, I was I was happy, but I was
not happy, you know what I mean, especially because you know,
I kept thinking about it, like if I didn't go
to that camp, I would have been able to see
(18:21):
my uncle, you know what I mean. So that kind
of that that messed me up for a while.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
And he's back in Phoenix.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
Yeah, so that messed me up. So, I mean, I
was going through a lot of stuff and you know,
I don't, I don't, I don't. I'm not gonna say.
You know, I didn't mean to do this because I
was doing it was my fault, you know. I got
caught that stuff for my own reasons. But it was
just going through a lot, and that's I kind of
felt like I was kind of numbing that pain with that,
you know. But the me getting caused the best thing
(18:50):
that could happen to me, you know what I mean,
So kind of put my life together for a while
and then, you know what I mean, just now, you know,
what really helps me stay grounded is my family, my family,
my kids, and uh yeah, man, but you know we
still kept we still kept working.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Bro.
Speaker 3 (19:07):
When we still kept working, we came back, we fought
Anthony Dureau. Twenty two, I won another world title. I'm
really happy for the things I did because what twenty
years old, I was the youngest ever in history to
win Super Middleway title, and then I wanted to get
in twenty two. I think the youngest one ever winning
was at twenty three, so I won it twice before
that that record, So I mean, I'm really happy, and
(19:28):
I'm just really looking forward to keep winning titles and
being the best version of myself.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
Man, It's I it's no, it's no blueprint. You know,
it's no blueprint.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
Like you talked about being younger, and all you did
was trained right, Like a lot of times for young
pheenoms or or or young athletes, they don't get a
chance to go out there and do some of the
stuff other kids get to do.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Like literally it's like school gym.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
That's pretty much your life, and that stuff is every
day for years, and then you get this high moment.
It's like you may not have been ready for the
moment and at that time and people don't count. They
just say, well, you're a world champion, you should know better.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
It's like, yeah, you.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
Technically should, but like man, I'm still trying to figure
it out. The only problem is my life is in
front of the cameras now, and I'm gonna keep it
real with you.
Speaker 3 (20:11):
Though.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
I remember when that happened. I think we had had it.
I think it was either a year or two after that.
We was an HBO fighter meeting.
Speaker 4 (20:17):
I remember the fans, wasn't it when Crawford fod my brother?
Speaker 2 (20:20):
Yea yeah, And I remember thinking, like man, I remember
thinking about you, like, man, he's got the talent, bro.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
He can fight, ain't no doubt about it. But I
don't know.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
If he can stay out the way and stay focused.
It was a question at that time. You think that
was a fair question for you at that time.
Speaker 3 (20:35):
Definitely, especially at that time. I was a mess at
that time. I was a mess at that time. But
you know another thing that the people don't realize too,
you know what I mean. I didn't like how you said.
You know, we're going gym school for years and years
and years. So finally when I make it to top
a world champion brought that world title fight. I got
half a million dollars and I'm twenty years old.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
It's like twenty million at that time, is yeah?
Speaker 3 (20:58):
Bro? Yeah, the first hundred thousand you make when you're younger,
you feel like it's a million dollars. So I had
made two fifty, then I made five hundred, and then
I had to fight for a million after I was
scheduled and it didn't fight.
Speaker 4 (21:09):
Because I got caught by Vada yea. Yeah, bro, that's
a lot of money.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
Bro, that's a lot of money for a little for
a kid that already has drug problems, you know what
I mean. So that's why I try to look at
people now. I try to give my when I look
at fighters, I try to give them the best advice,
Like you gotta stay grounded, you gotta find your faith.
For me, would help me. And everything is my faith,
you know. I pray every day. I pray every day,
(21:36):
and that keeps me grounded, and that lets me, that
allows me, you know, to say no to the negative stuff,
you know what I mean, especially now like I get
I got older, you know, I you know, I understand
the consequences of drinking and doing drugs and all that
stuff is it just puts your life down.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
And it puts your life down.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
So for me to you know, stay clear mind and
you know, and and and do the right stuff, I gotta,
you know, pray God every single day. And then my family.
I'm doing it for my family. To everything I do
is for my family. So you know, I've I've already
seen the bad parts about the drugs and alcohol and
now I'm staying clear of that stuff. And you know,
I just want to be the best version of myself.
(22:14):
I don't want to be one of them guys that
they get to forty years old and be like man,
I felt my career because I couldn't I couldn't get a.
Speaker 4 (22:22):
Hold of my my demons.
Speaker 3 (22:24):
So now you know, now I give all the praise
to God, and you know, I feel really happy. I
feel really comfortable with myself because I know I'm gonna
make the right decisions, you know what I mean. And yeah, man,
the really the keeping my faith and keeping my feet
grounded to the floor has really helped me in my
life overroall.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
Will you answer my other question, because I was gonna say,
you know, after that positive test, I watched you over
the next couple of years. You know, I'm always watching guys, man,
even if I don't really speaking much about them, I'm
always got my eyes to the game, especially guys that
are on the rise.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
And I just seen you mature little by little by little.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
I seen you kind of talking a little bit different,
so you move in a little bit different. I don't
know you like that, but you seem to be comfortable
in the limelight a little bit more. You seem to
be comfortable being a champion and having the attention. Like
you just seem settled. And then I've seen you. I
always see you with your family, So it's like those
are always good signs when you see a guy with
(23:17):
his wife and with his kids, not just for a
photo a while, but like this is my real crew, Like
I really be with him, and that's what.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
It seemed like for you.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
So man, it's dope, brother, And I still see you
evolving as a fighter and as a man.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
And then also now, like I don't like we talk
about this stuff all time, all the stuff I've been through.
Speaker 4 (23:34):
I'm not really ashamed of myself.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
I just feel like all the stuff that I've been
through I could tell somebody else. And then that way,
they don't have to go through the same thing I
went through. That's right, because a lot of a lot
of people go through this stuff. Just a lot of
people don't talk up about it, you know what I mean.
And I've already been crucified, so I might as well
just keep talking about it, you know what I mean.
And I don't want to help the whole world. If
I if I could help one person not make the
(23:57):
wrong mistakes, then that's good for me.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
And hopefully they watching, you know, because sometimes that your
life is speaking without saying nothing. And if dudes are
really paying attention to you as a whole, not just
the boxing, but your life, man, they gonna pick up
a lot, bro, because you're doing a great job, bro,
And I'm proud of you. Man, I see them coming
into your own Take me back, talk a little bit
more about about the weight issues as a kid, and
(24:21):
you talked a little bit about it, but how you
really overcame that? And then like, what's your message to
kids that are struggling with obesity and being overweight?
Speaker 3 (24:29):
So my message to the kids about OBEs and being overweight,
First of all, all the stuff that they put out,
whether it's the gas station, chips, juice, fast food. If
it's not being cooked at home, it's all bad. It's
literally it's all bad. Also, you need to you know,
you need to drink a lot of water. You know,
you need to stay I feel like with the kids.
(24:50):
It starts in the mentality. You know, you gotta work,
you gotta work out, you gotta go run, you gotta
make yourself feel good, you gotta look good so you
can become the best version of yourself. And it's it's
not gonna happen overnight, you know, especially losing weight. That's
probably one of the hardest things to go through.
Speaker 4 (25:04):
But you know, if you.
Speaker 3 (25:05):
Really want it, you could do anything that you want.
You could manifest anything you want. So first, when you
take care of the weight, you start looking good, you
start feeling good, you start performing good, you start really
being who you want to be, you know what I mean.
And that's that's what it's been like for me now too.
I really could be the best version of myself and
I really get to I'm able to motivate other people,
(25:25):
and you know, I'm really happy with that now.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
The world, No, you can fight. What type of businessman
is David Benavidez. How do you handle your business offline
with it's time to negotiate a fight or okay, you
got your check? Like what type of stuff are you
into investment wise? Like what type of business man is
David Benavida?
Speaker 3 (25:41):
So right now, you know, the one thing that I'm
into more is the real estate. You know, I got
a couple homes, and then now I finally got into
what I really wanted to get into, is is food.
Speaker 4 (25:52):
I got my food truck business.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
It's called the Easy BATCHI isn't it being Miami, So
you know that's something I wanted to get into. And
just honestly, right now, just real estate and that, and
then I don't really like putting too much things on
my plate because at the end of the day, boxing
means the most to me. And if something's taking my
energy away from boxing, and I take it out completely.
Speaker 2 (26:11):
Back to Canelo, when did you first set your sights
on him as an opponent?
Speaker 1 (26:15):
Not just oh, that's a good fighter.
Speaker 3 (26:18):
I set my sights on him once. I think it
was after that second Galufkin fight, because he was fighting
at one sixty and obviously I'm at one sixty eight,
so I knew it was inevitable him coming up, you know,
but I always knew that I was I was a
problem for him because I was never I was never
at the forefront of you know, when he mentions the fight,
(26:39):
you know, it was never David Benabia's first. It was
kayleab Plant or Callum Smith, Billy Joe Sanders, you know,
so he just really kept he never like really mentioned me.
I don't know if that's like a pride thing because
I'm Mexican as well and he's Mexican, or if he.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
Just really thinks I'm that much of a threat.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
But you know, I knew. I knew one day people
were going to ask for that fight. And I feel like,
now this is it's amazing how much attention this fight
is getting. And I think I'm even winning more right now,
the more he's putting it off because people are seeing, like,
what if he was not they offered him seventy million
to fight me.
Speaker 1 (27:15):
That's before payp per That's a real number.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
That's bef Yes, you guys could call Luis Tokolos out
Hayman and ask him that before fighting me. So imagine
after pay per view and then with me. So what
Canelo does, he doesn't. He pays the guy's flat fee.
He had They had offered me five million dollars, and
I said, cool, they offered you. Somebody called Samson lucaw
Haz called us and said, before the Hymen McGill fight,
said hey, will you guys be willing to fight only
(27:40):
a flat fee of five million dollars. You're not getting
no pay per view, none of that. And I said, yes,
I heard it from that's from Samson Lucas. That's why
I heard it from. I didn't hear from Canelo, none
of his team, but we had agreed.
Speaker 4 (27:52):
We said yes. Then we never heard back.
Speaker 3 (27:54):
But I think what they were trying to do there
is they're just trying to They're just trying to you know.
They were calling the bay out. They wanted to see
if I was gonna say yes or no. I think
they thought they were gonna that I was gonna say no,
I'm not gonna fight for five million dollars, you know
what I mean. There was his fight's worth way more so.
I mean I called the bluff. I said yes, and
that was the last time we ever heard about that fight.
But like I said, this fight is inevitable. You know,
(28:16):
everybody's asking for it. This is the biggest fight that
could possibly be made. And I'm not scared of the Canelo.
I feel like I could beat him, you know what
I mean. That's basically what I'm doing with with David Merrew.
David Meryrow has been talking a lot saying that I
can't beat him, and what am I doing. I'm going
and facing him, and that's what a true champion should do.
If I'm sitting here telling Canelo, I can knock him
out and I can beat him, why didn't he just
(28:36):
come shut me up and make a lot of money.
That's what he's doing now. He's fighting easier opponents and
winning thirty million dollars And I'm not nobody to talk
about money like it's not a lot of money. But
if he fights me, he's making triple that, So it
just make it make sense.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
I don't like getting into you know, is a fighter scared?
Because you know to me, it's more like like I
guess the question is do you think it's it's fear
on his part or is it more just that's a
bad style.
Speaker 3 (29:04):
I don't I don't like I said, I don't think
any fight are scary to either. But I feel like
he knows that it's the toughest fight and that in
his head he potentially knows that he could lose. That's
what I know. I know that for a fact. That's
why I know he's not taking this fight. I don't
think that he's scared of me. I think he will
fight me, but I know he knows that if he
(29:25):
loses this fight, then what else is You know, he's
probably gonna retire. So that's a big that's a big
if for him, and that's why I stand on that.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
So you still you still believe it's gonna happen one.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
Day, I think it. So my plan is right now
being David Morrell growing up winning the undispeeded titles, and
in that way I can entice a fight with Canelo.
Maybe we could do a catchweight one two. I don't
know if they they'll allow it, but you willing to
do that. I'm willing to do that for both the
titles one sixty eight, one seventy five on them.
Speaker 4 (30:00):
One was the last time I was ever done.
Speaker 2 (30:01):
It's a long time Leonard did something like that.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
Yeah, exactly, And it would would be the most money.
It's be the highest paid fight of all boxing in
my opinion, and then it is possible that could happen
because you see Tyson Fury, what he got one hundred
and fifty million or something like that. Who sit got
like one hundred and fifty million?
Speaker 1 (30:19):
Crazy?
Speaker 3 (30:19):
So I mean, I don't I think what Canelo was doing.
He's putting the price out there too. He's letting people
know how much the cost is. And now you see
he did it. He met with Turkey ally Sheet. So
I feel like we're in good position right now. But
like I said, I always keep my thoughts of my
opponent in front of me, and we're not thinking about
Canola now, we're thinking of David Morrell. And then after
(30:40):
that we're we're in a window undisputed title.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
Out of plant Andre Rose Dick. Who's your toughest opponent today?
Speaker 3 (30:50):
To be honest with you, I feel like the slickeest
fighter I fought was planted because he moved around a lot,
he knew how to use the ring. He's hugging a lot.
Any Bayless is messed up that fight too. He didn't
give him no warnings. But the toughest fight that I
went through, was pint my last fight because it's so
much injuries. You know what, I had a month and
a half, torn the tendant a month before the fight.
(31:13):
Fractured this because you know, when you hurt one hand
and you still got a spar you're preparing for a
good opponent. You can't just stop sparring. You know, you
gotta work the other hand because this might happen in
the fight. So I'm working the hand, working the hand.
I throw a hook or an uppercut to the guy's
head in the middle of the head right here, and
that messed it up. So then, you know, I try
to let it heal for like a couple more weeks,
(31:35):
two weeks, and then I sparred and then this was
I was the sparring session was going good, hands weren't hurting.
Speaker 4 (31:41):
You know, I was touching.
Speaker 3 (31:42):
The last round, I go back to the corner, I
freaking get.
Speaker 4 (31:45):
Hit right there. I get split ten stitches.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
And then so when I was you know, me and
my mindset at that time, you know, I had to
block everything out. You know, I didn't care about that
because this was a really big card, me and Tanker fighting,
and I know a lot of people are looking forward
to that. So I didn't I didn't give up on that.
But when I was doing myths in the in the
back room, I felt my hand swooing up.
Speaker 4 (32:08):
This started hurting something. Man, it's gonna be a long.
Speaker 1 (32:10):
Night, yeah, man.
Speaker 3 (32:13):
But we get in there, bro, and it was a
good fight. You know, I'm happy with the performance I
put in there because there's a world class fighter, you know,
don't need loss the start to better be it. But
that was definitely had to dig deep for them. But
that's the type of experience you have to go through
let you know who you are, and that let me
know I would never give up on anything.
Speaker 1 (32:31):
I love it. I love it.
Speaker 2 (32:32):
You know people, you know, the fans and stuff, they
look at like a hardship in a fight, like a
knockdown or you know, a bad performance, or maybe you
didn't look your best like you said. But it's it's overcoming,
that's what That's what gives you.
Speaker 1 (32:44):
Them notches on the belt.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
When you start taking that competition up higher and you start,
you know, raining over a division. You know, it's not
if you step on the land line, it's.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
When you're gonna step on the lamb. How you react,
But you gotta know, I didn't been through this. I'n't
been through that. Overcame that.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
So the fans they a lot of times they think
of flawless performance.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
Oh he's unbeatable.
Speaker 2 (33:02):
It's like he may have some weakness that you don't
know about until he's tested in a certain type of way.
But when you got to deal with injuries and everything
in you is like, man, pull out the fight and
you pushed through, and maybe the performers weren't amazing, but
I got through that thing.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
Man, that's another strike. Yeah, that's another strike.
Speaker 4 (33:19):
Feels amazing.
Speaker 3 (33:20):
Honestly, it feels amazing because, like you said, I was
just close.
Speaker 4 (33:24):
Pointing out the fight.
Speaker 3 (33:25):
But the reason for me not pointing out the fight
and going through the fight, and it feels like one
of the biggest victories in my career.
Speaker 1 (33:33):
I know.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
But to tell the people if they don't know where
you got the name the Monster Front.
Speaker 3 (33:37):
My promoter Samson Lucaw it is when I first started
to call me ja. You know. I liked it, you know,
but I feel like, you know, it's kind of time
for something different. We went to go through the podcast
of Mike Tyson. Mike Tyson was freaking the best person ever.
Speaker 4 (33:52):
And he's like, man, you know what you like a
Mexican Monster?
Speaker 3 (33:55):
Like I like, that's it right there. You know, the
people liked it, so you know we stuck with it.
You know, the Mexican Monster and the monster, the monster
in Spanish, it's at the monster in English, the Mexican Monster.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
Man, you're creeping up on thirty, bro, And it's when
you start really like the game starts getting fun. Is
the game slowing down for you now where it's just
you just get like, let me ask you this, Let
me ask you this way. What type of fighter are
you right now in your career?
Speaker 3 (34:21):
Right now, I feel like I'm coming in my prime
and now really the best out of me is coming out.
And I've put the groundwork in Bro, I'll put the
leg work, and I've been professional eleven years. You know,
I've made a name for myself, so now it's just
time to solidify my name. That's why every time I
go in the fight, I'm really trying to hurt these people.
I'm not just trying to win the fight. I'm trying
(34:41):
to win all the fights after that to let these
people know that I am the best and I'm nothing
to play with. And that's the way I am right now.
You know. I love going in there and I love being.
Speaker 1 (34:50):
The dude up.
Speaker 3 (34:51):
I really love being Look like you enjoyed it because
by the time I've, like I said, I've been fighting
like that my whole life. By the time the fight
is over, and when you know you beat the heck
out of them and say, yeah.
Speaker 4 (35:00):
You were the best, that feels the best.
Speaker 3 (35:02):
That feels really good, like I told you, Like I
told you, I told you you.
Speaker 1 (35:07):
Like that in real life, Bro, you just flip a switch.
Speaker 3 (35:09):
Nah, I just flip a switch. Honestly, bro, people know me.
I'm the nicest guy in the world. I don't really
like violence. I don't like none of that. I don't
like getting to altercation, none of that. But when it's
time to go, it's time to go. Not to say
I'm gonna let somebody punk me, Like obviously I'm not
gonna let nobody do that, but I feel like every
man has to be like that. You have to be
cool if somebody comes and tries, so you gotta flip
that switch, you know. Fortunately for me, you know, people
(35:32):
don't try me in the street and nothing like that.
Speaker 4 (35:34):
Obviously I can't do nothing.
Speaker 3 (35:35):
But once it gets to the fights, you know, I'm
not gonna let all other fighter punk me.
Speaker 4 (35:38):
I'm not gonna let nobody look at me.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
I'm not gonna let nobody this dude look at me
say he's gonna knock me out. So I'm not gonna
let that happen.
Speaker 1 (35:45):
You're in a light heavyweight division.
Speaker 2 (35:46):
Now, what were your thoughts on Arthur better Bev and
dmitriy Bebo.
Speaker 3 (35:51):
I thought it was a great fight. I thought, to
be honest with you, I thought bevore one. I thought
Bevoll outlanded him. I thought the ring generalship was there.
Archer may have heard him a little bit more, but
I think, in my opinion, it was a razor thing
close fight. But I think Devol did exactly what was
necessary to win win the fight.
Speaker 1 (36:11):
I thought he did too.
Speaker 2 (36:12):
You know, he definitely had some moments where a body
language wasn't good, and if the judges are swaying, they
can look and and better be Of looked like he
was in command.
Speaker 1 (36:20):
But I thought Bevoll did or not.
Speaker 3 (36:22):
I thought, I honestly thought when when better Beev was
hitting him, I thought he was just being smart and
not throwing anything back, because sometime it looked like he
was getting hurt when he was kind of coming back,
I thought he was just letting better be of out
throw himself and then him coming back with his his offense.
Speaker 4 (36:37):
But it was a close fight.
Speaker 3 (36:39):
That's why those two, that's why the best fighters at
won seventy five.
Speaker 4 (36:42):
But that's why they're both champions.
Speaker 1 (36:43):
How do you think the rematch is gonna go similar?
Speaker 3 (36:46):
I think Devo is gonna win again. Not not to
say that, you know both the guys can make they
can't make any adjustments. I mean that's why they're great fighters.
I think they can make adjustments. But if the fight
goes the same way, I think Bevol wins again.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
You talked a little bit already about David Morell and
why you want to fight him.
Speaker 1 (37:02):
But that's an easy dude to side step.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
Don't have a big name, yet extremely skillful. Can hear
god ped agree that that's one of them dudes that
most people say, give me another name. Why didn't you
do that?
Speaker 3 (37:13):
Because I'm not like everybody else, Like I said, I'm
here to have my name known for generations. You know,
with me, I want to fight the best fighters, because
I already know what happens when I get in the
ring with the great fighter, the best out of me
comes out, you know what I mean? And this is
what I want. This is what we're here for. We
want to give the tough fights and I want no
easy fights. I want to go in there and leave
(37:33):
it all out in the ring and people say, wow,
David is an amazing fighter. He doesn't shy away from nobody,
really lets it all out for everybody to see.
Speaker 4 (37:40):
And I've always been like that, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (37:42):
I feel like now this is what I want to
solidify in my career that, you know, like the old
school fighters. It's like how you were. You know, you
fought the best, you never dodged nobody, and you went
in there you beat.
Speaker 4 (37:53):
The heck out of everybody. So that's exactly what I
want to do.
Speaker 3 (37:55):
I want to follow in the footsteps with great fighters
and Hall of Fame fighters like yourself.
Speaker 2 (37:59):
So you feel like for show when the competition is better,
I know I'm a round yes, no doubt about it.
You gotta do the kickoff press conference. It's a lot
of back and forth, which is to be expected. It's
a fight, you know, and y'all are announcing a fight,
but then you had an open workout in Miami, I
believe it was, and you put hands on him and
Morell came back.
Speaker 1 (38:19):
And through the belt.
Speaker 2 (38:20):
But your defense is on point that day, my boy,
because that thing just missed you. I said, if he
hit him with that belt, it might have been over.
Speaker 1 (38:26):
We might not be having a fight.
Speaker 2 (38:28):
Tell me about that open workout and just that whole scene.
Speaker 3 (38:30):
So David Morrell, he just tries to act like he
tries to act super tough for the camera. You don't
think that's real. You don't think that's I thought it
was real. I thought it was real. But that's what
I'm saying what led up to that. So when we
were at the press conference, the first one, we're talking
all this and that, and I'm talking tough to David Morrell,
and then he comes up after the press conference is done,
and then he shakes my hand, give me.
Speaker 1 (38:51):
After all of that first got you? Got you.
Speaker 3 (38:55):
So then when we go to the press conference over there,
you know, it was my birthday actually, so I'm already
good mood.
Speaker 4 (39:00):
I'm walking in and as you can see, I went
to go.
Speaker 3 (39:03):
Shake his hand, but throw all my people are as
a gym. I train at ye. And then he did
just shake my hand, mate, and I held it out
there like, bro shake my hand, shake my hand, and
he didn't shake my hand. That got me heated. So
I'm like, oh, we're gonna fight anyway, I might as
well push them and see what's up. I'm gonna test
his temperature push them. But this is how I know
he's scared of me, because he threw the belt at me.
(39:23):
If I throw my belt at you, I'm trying to
hit you in the head and that when I hit you,
the fight is gonna be canceled. So me seeing him.
Speaker 4 (39:31):
Throw his belt at me, you know he's already he's
already looking.
Speaker 3 (39:33):
For a way out, you know what I mean. I
would never throw my belt at you or anybody because
there's kids, there's people here. If I get if I
hit somebody in the head, it's gonna bust.
Speaker 1 (39:40):
You feel like he should came back within sid did something.
Speaker 3 (39:42):
Yeah, he should push me something like that. Yeah, But
you know, at the end of the day, this is
it's good making for TV because because you got to
sell the fight as well. You know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (39:54):
Now, that I'm getting into pay per views and all
this stuff.
Speaker 3 (39:56):
You know, you you kind of have to do a
lot of those shenanigans to sell the fight, you know
what I mean, And people are more interested.
Speaker 1 (40:01):
You know.
Speaker 3 (40:02):
We had a good press conference, had a good back
and forth, and the good thing about this is I
know this is going to sell a lot because none
of this is fake. These are the fights that are
not fake, are the ones that saw a lot, like
Crawford and my brother. You don't remember when my brother
pushed Crawford and Crawford right swung at him. Yeah, So
this stuff like that just keeps people on their edge,
and that's all the makings of a great fight.
Speaker 1 (40:22):
Bro, what's going on withouta testing?
Speaker 2 (40:23):
But I see I see you speaking out against about
Morell not signing it.
Speaker 1 (40:27):
That is not hard to sign up for. So what's
going on with that?
Speaker 3 (40:31):
So me, I've been tested more by bat than anybody,
you know what I mean? And I really want to
talk about this, but now we're talking about this. When
I fought Caleb Plant, so when I signed for this fight,
I already knew months in advance. I knew like four
or five months ago when I signed. When I fought
Caleb Plant. We started testing like fourteen weeks out. Demetrius
started testing twelve weeks out. Both six started testing eleven weeks.
Speaker 4 (40:54):
Out before the fight, before the fight, so.
Speaker 3 (40:57):
No, no, So it was like eleven weeks to the fight,
so like three months four months I had with David Meryl.
The only reason I bring stuff up because stuff people
say stuff. Other fighters have said that they got test,
that they had to test Vada and that they didn't,
that David Meryl didn't test bad, and then after the
fights they weren't testing for drug test. So I'm kind
(41:19):
of looking at that like okay, Like I keep telling
these guys about the drug test. They keep saying next week,
next week, next week, that their team David merrels I
have sent all my stuff. I've sent all my stuff.
I'm like, I'm ready to go, let's test, like all
the we're just wait with this, you know what I mean.
And then by the time it got to week nine,
(41:39):
I'm not lying about anything.
Speaker 4 (41:41):
I've screenshots of everything.
Speaker 3 (41:42):
If they're not gonna test, I'm gonna cancel the fight.
I don't give a none of this, Like where bad
is here for a reason? Why why are they not testing.
So then I tell them if they're not here by
them all, we're going to cancel the fight. They were
thereby they got there the next day. But that's what
I'm saying. It shouldn't even been like that. Why am
(42:02):
I calling Vada? Why am I telling them? Like where's
why don't we gonna start testing? This is a big fight,
you know what I mean. I'm sure you would feel
the same way, like, oh, we got two months and
a half, like why haven't we why haven't we tested yet?
So I mean, and then from also, I mean, you
can look it up yourself. There's people talking about David
Merrell that he didn't test this and that his fighters
(42:22):
that he's previously fought. So I'm looking at this stuff.
I'm like, bro, these guys are not gonna get over
them me Like, if you want to beat me, come
do it, Come do it the right way. Don't be
cheating it, you know. So that that was my thing
about that they've been doing their job now phenomenally. So
they have been testing, and they've been testing now. Yeah,
once I made it so when I when I said that,
I didn't say nothing. I didn't want to say nothing
(42:43):
about this, but when we're doing that press conference, David
Morrell said that I have, uh that everybody that my
team is drug addicts that we take, we take steroids
in that all that stuff. So that's why I just
let it go. I'm like, bro, you're not to tell
me that we're taking steroids. And we've been on top
of you guys trying to get the VATA testing. So
(43:03):
that's the whole thing about that. But now the bat
has been doing the job. We've been testing good and
everything's been.
Speaker 2 (43:08):
When did he start you think we started opponentest?
Speaker 3 (43:12):
Yeah, so it started nine weeks when it was a
week nine until the fight, So from nine weeks to
the fight, so it would have been like two months
and a half once we started testing.
Speaker 1 (43:22):
Ok yeah, Okay, how.
Speaker 2 (43:24):
Do you envision this fight playing out? February first?
Speaker 3 (43:28):
This is gonna be the best fight of my career
so far, the best performance because you know, you know,
when you get to them, you get them camps where
sometimes stuff ain't good, But then you get the camps
where physically, emotionally, mentally you're getting your rounds in, you're
getting the runs in. You've been training for like three
and a half months and everything is just flowing good
(43:49):
and even when you when you vision stuff in your head,
it's looking amazing. So for me this fight, I'm gonna
go in there. I'm gonna put on a great performance
and I'm definitely gonna I'm going in to try to
knock David Morle, which if if I get it or not,
I don't know, but I'm definitely gonna beat David Morroe.
But I'm gonna be in there trying to hurt him
every single round.
Speaker 2 (44:08):
You think he's gonna bang with you, You think he's
gonna try.
Speaker 3 (44:10):
To move and be up, He's gonna be He's definitely
gonna try to I think he's gonna move around. First
he's in a he's in a box, and then I might,
you know, entice him to a firefight, you know. But
if it's for me to hunt him down, me to
cut the distance, me to counter while he's trying to
counter me, I'm one hundred percent ready for everything.
Speaker 2 (44:27):
You take care of your business February first, you got
better be a B ball rematch. Are your sights are
set on the winner? Right? That's why you have to
like in the light headway division, right?
Speaker 4 (44:36):
Yeah, who would.
Speaker 1 (44:38):
You rather fight?
Speaker 3 (44:39):
I sparred before. I spared him a lot of times,
so I know him. I know him personally, I know
him more as a style. But I feel like both
those men I have to be at one hundred and
ten percent because both of them, you know, they're they're
the top, there's elite, they're the upper echelon fighters. So
I don't know I'll beat both of them.
Speaker 2 (44:57):
But but you definitely want either one.
Speaker 3 (44:59):
I want either one of them, yeah, but that would
definitely be a great fight. But if we're not able
to get that fight, I would love to go up
to cruiserweight and fight sud Ramirez really. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (45:08):
I sparred him a lot too, and spar him a lot.
Speaker 3 (45:11):
I feel like we owe it to each other because
every time would spar to be a pay per viewer,
pay per view cruiser cruiserweight, Yeah, you.
Speaker 1 (45:17):
Would skip light heavy and just go up.
Speaker 3 (45:19):
I would try to go up and try to fight
and then come back down if I'm allowed.
Speaker 2 (45:24):
Man, I want to see that too, bro. But I
think the light heavyweight thing, I think that the undisputed.
Speaker 4 (45:30):
Yeah, no, yeah, definitely, That's what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (45:32):
I just feel like, if there's an opportunity, if there's
an opportunity to me to go up to one the cruiserweight,
I would definitely take it if there's no other fight.
If I'm not able to get that fight, because there
might be a rubber match if the first fight, if
the second fight is like the first fight, it might
be a third.
Speaker 1 (45:48):
And win going at it again.
Speaker 3 (45:50):
Yeah, And who am I to be like, oh no,
he has to fight me first. I mean, these good
guys put together tremendous fight, Like you got to give
them the respect that they deserve.
Speaker 1 (45:58):
Absolutely, I got two more for you. I'm gonna let
you go.
Speaker 2 (46:01):
It looks like we might be getting Crawford Canelo if
that fight happens.
Speaker 1 (46:06):
How do you see that fight playing out?
Speaker 3 (46:08):
To be honest with you, I feel like Crawford is
a great fighter, and I know he's gonna come in
extremely prepared. I just feel like Canelo, he's more comfortable
at that weight.
Speaker 4 (46:19):
At one sixty eight.
Speaker 3 (46:20):
Could we see Crawford. He'd look great in his fight,
but you know, he struggled a little bit. I won
fifty four, so that's going up two weight classes, you
know what I mean. But Crawford is Crawford. He's a
king and he's he's an all time great for a reason,
so I wouldn't be surprised if he wins. I wouldn't
be surprised if you lose.
Speaker 1 (46:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (46:36):
Yeah, it's one of them kind of fights. You know,
it's got two great fighters. You got the weight differential.
But it's intriguing for show. Yeah, it's intriguing for show.
If I can't get Canelo Benavidez, those are two fights
I've been calling for. Cannelo Benavidez or Cannelo Crawford.
Speaker 1 (46:50):
Give me one of those times.
Speaker 4 (46:51):
It's a great fight, and.
Speaker 2 (46:52):
Obviously I know it's one you want, you know, last one, bro, Like,
are you one of them guys that feel like, man,
I'm trying to fight until I can't fight no more?
Or do you have a plan in your mind and
sort of an extra strategy or age? It's like, man,
I'm gonna start winding it down. I want to go
out like this.
Speaker 3 (47:08):
So from what I see, like all time greats, honestly
the only one that's really actually stepped away and just kept.
Speaker 4 (47:15):
It like that as you.
Speaker 3 (47:16):
But I mean, I don't want to be boxing for
it's kind of like a double a sword. I don't
want to say, I don't want to be boxing forever,
but I do want to box forever, you know what
I mean. So right now, what I'm thinking of is
maybe thirty five, I got another ten years of me,
you know, probably thirty six, just getting all my stuff
in order, like my businesses and my houses that I
get so by the time I get to that age,
(47:37):
I don't have to do anything, you know, because at
the end of the day, it sucks to say, but
a lot of boxers they really don't know how to
manage their money. And most of the time that's why
we come back into the sport because we we messed
up all the money that we had coming up. And
when it gets to that time, you know, we still
have to make money. So I don't want to I
want to leave the boxing of my terms and I
don't want to come back only. I don't want to
(47:59):
just come back for money. So maybe like another ten years.
Speaker 2 (48:03):
Ten years, Bro, that's a lot of that's a lot
of hardware, that's a lot of belts. Yeah, that's a
whole lot of money. Brother man.
Speaker 1 (48:09):
Brother, thank you for your time.
Speaker 3 (48:11):
Bro.
Speaker 1 (48:11):
I appreciate you.
Speaker 3 (48:11):
Man.
Speaker 1 (48:12):
We're excited about February.
Speaker 2 (48:13):
First and Uh, we're gonna be in the building, bro man.
Speaker 1 (48:16):
That's a rap. That's another episode of The Art Award Camp.
Been to be there.
What's up, everybody.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Welcome back to another episode of the Art of War Today.
My guest is one of the hottest young fighters in
the game. He's talented, he's outspoken.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
He's also one of the most fears.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
He's a two time world champion now campaigning in the
second weight class in the light heavyweight division, and he
wants to become a two division world champion and dominate
another weight class, all before he turns thirty years old.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
He has a big fight.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Coming up February first against the Cuban David Morrell and
Las Vegas.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
I want to welcome to the.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Show David the Monster Benevida.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
But I appreciate you opening up camp.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Man.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
I know it's not easy doing these kind of interviews,
but man, let's get right into it. What's been working
for you in this camp and what's been good about
this camp?
Speaker 4 (00:43):
So it's been working for me?
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Is this camp?
Speaker 3 (00:45):
You know, I think everything is just you know, come
at the perfect moment. I'll have momentum on my side
of how big fights and now coming into a second
weight class. My body feels better. I feel in better shape,
you know, I feel like my body is growing, you
know more, you know, and I'm getting into my prime now,
and I just wanted you know, that's the only thing,
the thing that's better than this camp than anything. I know,
what's on the other side of this fight is greatness,
(01:08):
So I definitely want it. I'm hungry for this and
I let that leading me into this camp in this fight.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Now read somewhere where you said, you know, no injuries
in this camp. We're always dealing with something as fighters,
but to have a camp where you it's just about
the work, it is a beautiful thing.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
So no injuries, you injury.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
It's amazing, you know, Especially for my last camp. I
was coming off probably the worst injuries I've ever had
in any fight, you know. I had torn tendent, fracture, knuckle,
I got a cut over my camp No, my last
camp camp three weeks before the fight, had ten stitches
of my eye. So for this camp, like you say,
you don't got to worry about injuries. You don't got
to worry about my hand going to get hurt, this
(01:44):
and that. So this camp has just been amazing. It's
been phenomenal, you know, the energy with me and my
father and my brother, the whole camp. It's been amazing.
So you know, I'm really looking forward to have a
great performances fight.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
What is it about David Morrell? You know what makes
him dangerous?
Speaker 3 (01:57):
He's a great fighter. He was a technical fighter. He
is the school Cuban fighters, tall, long arms. You know,
on paper, this fight looks like the most dangerous fight
for me, you know, besides anybody else in the in
the weight division, but for me.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
Man, you know yourself.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
You know, there's just some fighters that want that challenge,
that they want to challenge themselves. And this is why
I got there. I chose this fight because it looked
like the hardest fight on paper, and I want to
challenge myself.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
We don't go a little bit deeper into the relationship
with y'all a little bit later, but before I move on.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Is the bad Blood real? Like you really don't like it?
Speaker 4 (02:28):
Yeah, you really don't like it? It's definitely real. I
don't like them.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
I don't like them all, and just just with these fights,
I think it just brings that out in you. I
think the more you dislike somebody, the better it is
for the fight and for the cells.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Yeah, I mean that's what boxing is about.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
I want to take it, take a little bit of
a journey back to Phoenix, Arizona, where you're from, you know.
And it was interesting when I was, you know, studying
for this interview that you started. You started boxing at three, yeah,
three years and did you start so young?
Speaker 3 (02:53):
I started because my brother was a fund that actually
first started boxing, Jose and then my dad, Jose been
his senior, was training us in the garage. So when
I was like two years old, I would go to
the garage. You know, you're a little kid. Your dad
sends you off like, oh, I'm training junior, I'm training
your brother, and then me going into the garage every
single day. It turned into like you know what, list
come in here and we'll train. And that's really how
(03:15):
my my story got started. The only difference between me
and everybody else that you know, I've always been a
bigger dude. I'd like to eat, even since a little kid.
So it was never in the amateurs because I didn't
make the weight the way, but I was always sparring
the best fighters. By the time I was thirteen years old,
I was sparring with nothing but pros in North Hollywood.
At the wild Card fourteen, I sparred my first world
(03:36):
champion latif Coyote Kid Chocolate Kelly Pavlick. Then fifteen, I
sparred a Golufkin when he didn't even make his US
debut yet. So I've been seasoned, bro, I've been That's
that was my amateur pedigree right there, sparring all the
best world champions that were in California.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Now, your father said that boxing came into your guys'
life as an accident.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
Does what does that mean my boxing came into her
life because I think my dad, you know, my dad,
he came from Los Angeles, and when we moved to Phoenix, Arizona,
my dad was involved in a lot of gangs back
in Los Angeles. So I think in his mind, you know,
he always thought that something was gonna happen to him.
So he the way he explained it to me, he
always wanted to train us so we could be tough,
(04:17):
you know, in case something happened, so my brother could
take care of us, or I could take care of
my little sister and my mom and stuff like that.
That was an exit plan. But then that became the passion,
our passion for us. I remember back then, they used
to make I used to walk in the room. When
I was like four years old, my dad and I
used to see him with.
Speaker 4 (04:33):
The cassette tapes of the.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Title boxing, how to throw a jab, how to blog,
how to do this and that. So my dad. I
give it all to my dad. Now that I get older,
you know, I'm matured a lot. Back then, I thought
my dad just hated me. He just wanted me to
train because he didn't like me, supposedly, you know how
kids think. And now that I think about it, bro,
I'm really grateful for my dad because if you take
my dad out the question, none of this is possible.
My dad, he devoted his life to making us the
(04:57):
best that we could possibly be. And I'm just grateful
for having that man in my corner.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Man pops, uh, he said, I read somewhereere. He said
he didn't even know if he could do it. You know,
he was so inexperienced, and it never cut his teeth
on a particular on any fighter where he was like,
I don't even know if I can do it, and
he ended up hitting the ground running and obviously it
worked for you guys, if the boxing relationship never came
into play, what do you think your life would have ended.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Up being for you and your brother.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
To be honest with you, bro, I feel like with me,
I don't. I don't think my life would have been
anything good. You know, I probably would have been in Phoenix,
Arizona doing a lot of dumb stuff to people on
the Phoenix Arizona. Do you know there's there's types of
people where you hang out with a certain type of crowd.
You know, me, we never went to school, We never
did none of that. We were hanging around with the
hooligans and you know, the hood loves and stuff like that.
(05:41):
And even like coming into my career coming up when
I was younger, you know, I still stayed in the
bad path and that really got me in all the
problems I was in. But you know, like I said,
boxing is my savior. Boxing is my savior. If it
wasn't for boxing, I don't know what I'd be doing.
I don't know what my brother be doing, I don't
know my dad be doing. So you know, I'm very
(06:01):
grateful for boxing and for everything that is given me
and giving my family.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
When did you become aware of like Passa's background and
the stuff he had been When it started making sense
to you.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
When I was. When I got probably like the thirteen
fourteen years old. You know, you start catching on the stuff,
You start seeing stuff, you know what I mean, You
start seeing your environment. And you know, my dad thankfully
for us. You know, he really dedicated his life, you
know when he left California, left everything behind. But I
don't know, there's just just some things about kids like us.
You know, you hang out with certain type of people
(06:33):
and sometimes that looks cool. You want to do stuff
like that, but you just end up getting yourself into problems.
You know, even when I was like when I was
younger and stuff, you know, I got myself into a
lot of problems. But wanting to become better for me
and my family, you know, I made the change for
my life.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
You ain't got to go into detail, but like you
and jose y'all played in the streets a little big,
you guys dabble trying to figure it out.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
Well I didn't really. My brother did what he did,
but I didn't really dabble on that stuff though. The
thing I'm referring to is, you know, getting into drugs
at an early age, you know what I mean, at
early age that kind of messed me up.
Speaker 4 (07:06):
But because you got to.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
Understand with boxing, when I was training with my dad,
I trained all these months getting ready for a fight,
and then you only got like a week off, So
you supposed that you want to go hang out with
your friends, do whatever you did. So that's kind of
what messed me up. That getting into drugs, you know,
and you know, and then I got tested positive for cocaine,
you know, when I was twenty years old.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
But like I said, Bro, a lot of that stuff.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
Sometimes you need to hit rock bottom for you to
actually cement your feet into the ground and find your
faith and find who you really are and find with
your real purposes in life. And I don't take nothing.
I'm not ashamed of anything I did. I'm just happy
things went the way it did and I found myself
and I became better for me myself and my family
and in my career.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Man, I see it, Bro, I see the maturity, I
see the growth. And you know, I'm gonna talk.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
A little bit about a little bit more about.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
That in a minute when we get to that point
in your in your in your timeline. But you know,
when you're twelve years old, your parents had just split
a couple of years prior, and really your brother was
the main one everybody was focusing on. Right at that time,
everybody was like junior, junior, junior. They ended up going
Pops In and your brother ended up going to LA.
You stayed back with mom? Why didn't you go when
(08:15):
they left?
Speaker 3 (08:16):
So my parents they got divorced when I was seven,
So I was back and forth a lot. But I
had been training this whole time, and like I said,
boxing was put on me, not because it's something I
love to do, well it turned into that, but because
my dad always made me train. So my parents' divorce
and they had made my brother and my dad made
the decision that they're going to California train with Freddie Roach.
(08:37):
So I'm like, you know what, I'm I'm done with boxing.
I'm gonna just stay with my mom and I'm not
boxing them. I'm tired of it. Because at the time
I was like ten eleven, but I had like eight
years training. So I stayed in Californa. I mean I
stayed in Arizona, and in that year, bro I went
up one hundred pounds. I was eating taco bell, eating
McDonald's everything. I was eating like six times a day
(08:59):
and I was one seventy. I went up to two
fifty two fifty. And then one day I looked at
myself in the mirror. I was going to school. I
was in seventh grade, and I didn't recognize myself, and
I'm like, this could either go one or two ways.
I could say I don't care about anything. I don't
care about nobody says I'm gonna continue this way and
I'm gonna hit a point in no return will probably
(09:20):
be five hundred pounds. Or I can make the decision
to go to California and try to lose a weight
and then just you know, put them pull my own
to boxing.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
And that was that was the decision we made, you know.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
So by the time, it's funny because my brother, like
you said, my brother, he was a big He was
a big ticket in California.
Speaker 4 (09:39):
Know, everybody was talking about him.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
So my brother and my dad will tell everybody at
Wildcart like, no, you think Junior is good, we got
another one. He's gonna come. His name is David, and
he's the real He's the one that has a lot
of talent as well. I get there and I'm two
hundred and fifty pounds, and every people are looking at
me like this, this is the one that you said
it was good, Like, man, get out of here. So
then it's an interesting point this because that's I've led
(10:02):
that moments like that always leading my career because nobody's
ever believed me, believed in me, even since I got
back I when I got to California, I had about
ten years boxing, and I had talent, but because the
way I look, people always ripped me off. So then
my dad would start pulling me to spar I think
I had sparred an olympian. An olympian in California. The
(10:23):
first time I sparred, and everybody's like, oh, no, I
to take he's fat, little kid, he's nothing, He's not
this and that. So that beat beat the dude, beat
the brakes off the dude. Then I started getting my
respect and I went in there with the pros, and
then everybody's starting to see like, man, they weren't lying
about this kid. This kid has a lot of talent.
But it was always it was always the same thing.
No matter how good I did, people would be always
(10:44):
be like, oh he's fat, Oh he's not. Then you
know we're gonna beat it. And then I kept getting respect,
kept getting respect. That's why I like with David Morrell. Now.
It's funny because he says the same thing every other
fighters told me, like Caleb Plant, Demetro Soandre. He's flat footed,
he's squared, he has no he has no talent, this
and that. So I've always let that anger fuel my
(11:05):
fights and fuel my career, and even to this day,
you know, it's still working for me. That's that's the
frequency I found, and it's allowed me to go in
there and you know, destroy all my opponents.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
It's amazing how every fighter's got that like it's something
Your thing may be different than this guy's thing, but
it's something that you held on to for years. And
then when somebody starts talking like that, it triggers that
thing again. And it's almost like it's almost like that
fire that's always kind of burning and it burns at
different levels depending on what's going on with them. When
somebody puts that gasoline on there, I'm right back where
(11:34):
I was. But going back to you know, when you
was with your mom, your brother was really the catalyst.
Though he came back, he visited and was like, bro,
you you coming with with us to California and he
got into it with your mom and it was a
whole big thing. And when you got there, tell me
about was that the Gonadi gluffkin a situation.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Or were you in Big Beer when this was?
Speaker 3 (11:54):
This was two years later when I Sparkle Luff and
I got there. You know, first of all, the first
thing that we did was shut off the weight. It
took me like about a year and a half, but
I got down one hundred and ninety one hundred and
eighty pounds something like that, oh fourteen.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
But you had a growth spur too.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
Saw. That's the funny thing that once I went out
there and started losing weight, I got tall. I got tall,
and when I went to California, I was like five
seven and then I ended up being sixty one six
y two. So it was just a blessing in disguise. Honestly,
I think that w was not. I think that was
the best, the best decision I've ever made for my life.
So when I went out there, I'm just focused, focus, focused.
(12:32):
And then we go up there to Big Bear and
then we're getting sparring up there because my brother is
about to have a big fight. And then my dad
tells Abel Sanchez, like, do you have any any buddy
for David? So, yeah, I just have this guy that
came from Kazakhstan. And I remember, I'll never forget Galufkin
was on the other side of the ring.
Speaker 4 (12:50):
I was over here. He's like, yeah, that's Glufkin over there.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
Bro. He gave me the coldest look I've ever I've
ever had anybody look at me. So me, I didn't
know who he was. I'm like, Dan, this guy is
looking pretty serioious. But then my Dad's like, no, you're
not going there to spar him. I'm like, alright, I guess,
but my dad. My Dad's always known, Bro. He's always
even though it's always been hard sparings, he's always put
(13:13):
me to push myself to the limit. And that's what's
made me who I am today. Because these sparing sessions
were sparing sessions. There were real fights. So I sparred
one time and they were super impressed with us that
I kept going back. That I was his main sparing
partner until I was like nineteen or twenty. The last
time I spared him was when he fought Daniel Jacobs,
and I remember we'd go up there and he'd be
(13:34):
beating everybody up and he'd make people where the body
pads and they remember they gave me one there, like
here's his body? What is this for? So gluf Can
doesn't hurt you to the body. I'm like, Bro, glove
Can hurts me to the body, then I shouldn't be
in there, Like he's not going to hurt me. And
I was the only person not using that. And it's
just glof Can is a great dude. I learned a
lot from him being up there in Big Bear and
(13:56):
it's just a lot of experience.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Bro.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
I'm working hard. You know, in boxing, nothing is given.
You have to earn that greatness and you have to
earn that hard work. And I'm just very happy with
the work I put in over these years.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Where did the Canelo phone call come in?
Speaker 2 (14:12):
Like during that time, because they had called and said, man,
y'a all in camp on share our secrets.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
So I was I was gonna go. I was sparring
with glufckin and I was gonna go spar with Canelo
the next week after that.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
He's in Big Beer too.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
No, I don't know what Canelo. I think it was
in San Diego. This was I was like eighteen eighteen somewhere,
So I was gonna go spar him, and then we
got a phone call. They called. My dad was like,
you know what, we don't need your spar We know
you're working with Glufckin. We don't want you to give
away a secret, my man, secrets, if anything, I'm keeping
those for myself. I'm not gonna give us nobody but Canelo. Man,
it's been a topic for us for a long long time,
(14:43):
and you know, hopefully it's done looking like it's gonna
happen right now, But hopefully we can get that fight happened,
because I, in my opinion, that's gonna be one of
the greatest fights in Mexican boxing history.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
I believe so too.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
Man.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
It would be a tremendous matchup man, for many reasons.
You had fifteen amateur and you're only sixteen years old
when you turn pro.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Why turn that early with that little experience?
Speaker 3 (15:06):
Because for me, like I said, we had been working
so much with the Professional Fighters World Champion, I feel
like I was ready, you know, I feel like I
was ready and I didn't want to waste any more time.
Speaker 4 (15:15):
And I just wanted to go straight to the pros.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
You know, for the first couple fights, seven fights, you know,
you build your record up. You know, you go to Mexico,
you get you get the sense of the little gloves
and all that. So, I mean, I feel like that
was a better move for me. And also amateur fighters,
if you go to all the amateur tournaments, they have
a different style than the professional fighters. I'm not saying
(15:38):
that they're not good or nothing like that. They're good,
but they're an amateur style. Is for an amateur style.
Once you start sparring professional or you start working with
the professional fighters, you know there's a certain pace you
got to move. You know, you can't do everything the
first two or three rounds. You gotta be smart about everything.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
So the beginning you started in Mexico, but then bro,
it was it was a four year track. Yeah, and
then here you or one of your first world title.
You you finally get that title at that young age,
and four years ain't that long? Like you got to
be an elite dude to win it for I think
I was like six or seven before I had my
first my first one. What was that moment like to
get that strap for the first time after only four.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Years before we start that. You know, it was it
was hard for me coming up. It wasn't hard because
I was putting in the work. But once I got
to like twelve fights, nobody wanted to sign me, you know,
and there was I was like eleven and oh with
ten knockouts and stuff. So I'm like, I'm kind of frustrated.
I'm like, man, what was going I'm doing everything I'm
supposed to do. I don't want nobody signing me. And
I got I went to I went to the Virgin
(16:36):
Islands and I started Julius Jackson. That's for when he
was getting ready for Luskenteki. Julian, I love you, but
I put it on him. I put it. I put
it on him the first day I went and.
Speaker 4 (16:47):
You know, his his.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
His trainer called Samson Luca to say, hey, I got
a dude here that just put put a beating on Julians.
Speaker 4 (16:57):
You need to take a look at this guy.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
You need to sign him. So then that's where everything happened.
That's when my career changed. So that I got I
signed with sam s Lucawitz and I signed with PVC
or it was showtime. At the time and started getting
these bigger fights, getting these bigger fights, and then that
Porky Madina fights would really put everything on the map
for me, you know. And Porky Medina at that time,
he had fought James de Gael and he gave James
(17:20):
de Gaell a close fight.
Speaker 4 (17:21):
A lot of people thought that Porky.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
Madina was on that he won. So me going in
there and being Porky the way I did just gave
me supreme confidence. Gave me supreme confidence. Then this takes
me to the world title fight, you know, and the
world title fight for me, it's it brings up a
lot of mixed emotions because when I was training three
weeks before my uncle died, you know, it was close.
Speaker 4 (17:42):
I was really close to my uncle.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
So he died and I won the fight, but it
was just you know what I mean, It's just I
was still dealing with that, you know, I was still
hurting inside. But honestly it was it wasn't as good
as I you know, winning the first hour, and you
know you could deal with that.
Speaker 4 (17:57):
Then you win the titles. It's like mixed emotions.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
Obviously I'm grateful for winning the title, but it wasn't
good for me, to be honest with you. But you know,
at the time, I was still dealing with that, you know,
and this is one with to bring up about the cocaine.
You know, I was I was happy, but I was
not happy, you know what I mean, especially because you know,
I kept thinking about it, like if I didn't go
to that camp, I would have been able to see
(18:21):
my uncle, you know what I mean. So that kind
of that that messed me up for a while.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
And he's back in Phoenix.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
Yeah, so that messed me up. So, I mean, I
was going through a lot of stuff and you know,
I don't, I don't, I don't. I'm not gonna say.
You know, I didn't mean to do this because I
was doing it was my fault, you know. I got
caught that stuff for my own reasons. But it was
just going through a lot, and that's I kind of
felt like I was kind of numbing that pain with that,
you know. But the me getting caused the best thing
(18:50):
that could happen to me, you know what I mean,
So kind of put my life together for a while
and then, you know what I mean, just now, you know,
what really helps me stay grounded is my family, my family,
my kids, and uh yeah, man, but you know we
still kept we still kept working.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Bro.
Speaker 3 (19:07):
When we still kept working, we came back, we fought
Anthony Dureau. Twenty two, I won another world title. I'm
really happy for the things I did because what twenty
years old, I was the youngest ever in history to
win Super Middleway title, and then I wanted to get
in twenty two. I think the youngest one ever winning
was at twenty three, so I won it twice before
that that record, So I mean, I'm really happy, and
(19:28):
I'm just really looking forward to keep winning titles and
being the best version of myself.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
Man, It's I it's no, it's no blueprint. You know,
it's no blueprint.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
Like you talked about being younger, and all you did
was trained right, Like a lot of times for young
pheenoms or or or young athletes, they don't get a
chance to go out there and do some of the
stuff other kids get to do.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Like literally it's like school gym.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
That's pretty much your life, and that stuff is every
day for years, and then you get this high moment.
It's like you may not have been ready for the
moment and at that time and people don't count. They
just say, well, you're a world champion, you should know better.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
It's like, yeah, you.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
Technically should, but like man, I'm still trying to figure
it out. The only problem is my life is in
front of the cameras now, and I'm gonna keep it
real with you.
Speaker 3 (20:11):
Though.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
I remember when that happened. I think we had had it.
I think it was either a year or two after that.
We was an HBO fighter meeting.
Speaker 4 (20:17):
I remember the fans, wasn't it when Crawford fod my brother?
Speaker 2 (20:20):
Yea yeah, And I remember thinking, like man, I remember
thinking about you, like, man, he's got the talent, bro.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
He can fight, ain't no doubt about it. But I
don't know.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
If he can stay out the way and stay focused.
It was a question at that time. You think that
was a fair question for you at that time.
Speaker 3 (20:35):
Definitely, especially at that time. I was a mess at
that time. I was a mess at that time. But
you know another thing that the people don't realize too,
you know what I mean. I didn't like how you said.
You know, we're going gym school for years and years
and years. So finally when I make it to top
a world champion brought that world title fight. I got
half a million dollars and I'm twenty years old.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
It's like twenty million at that time, is yeah?
Speaker 3 (20:58):
Bro? Yeah, the first hundred thousand you make when you're younger,
you feel like it's a million dollars. So I had
made two fifty, then I made five hundred, and then
I had to fight for a million after I was
scheduled and it didn't fight.
Speaker 4 (21:09):
Because I got caught by Vada yea. Yeah, bro, that's
a lot of money.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
Bro, that's a lot of money for a little for
a kid that already has drug problems, you know what
I mean. So that's why I try to look at
people now. I try to give my when I look
at fighters, I try to give them the best advice,
Like you gotta stay grounded, you gotta find your faith.
For me, would help me. And everything is my faith,
you know. I pray every day. I pray every day,
(21:36):
and that keeps me grounded, and that lets me, that
allows me, you know, to say no to the negative stuff,
you know what I mean, especially now like I get
I got older, you know, I you know, I understand
the consequences of drinking and doing drugs and all that
stuff is it just puts your life down.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
And it puts your life down.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
So for me to you know, stay clear mind and
you know, and and and do the right stuff, I gotta,
you know, pray God every single day. And then my family.
I'm doing it for my family. To everything I do
is for my family. So you know, I've I've already
seen the bad parts about the drugs and alcohol and
now I'm staying clear of that stuff. And you know,
I just want to be the best version of myself.
(22:14):
I don't want to be one of them guys that
they get to forty years old and be like man,
I felt my career because I couldn't I couldn't get a.
Speaker 4 (22:22):
Hold of my my demons.
Speaker 3 (22:24):
So now you know, now I give all the praise
to God, and you know, I feel really happy. I
feel really comfortable with myself because I know I'm gonna
make the right decisions, you know what I mean. And yeah, man,
the really the keeping my faith and keeping my feet
grounded to the floor has really helped me in my
life overroall.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
Will you answer my other question, because I was gonna say,
you know, after that positive test, I watched you over
the next couple of years. You know, I'm always watching guys, man,
even if I don't really speaking much about them, I'm
always got my eyes to the game, especially guys that
are on the rise.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
And I just seen you mature little by little by little.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
I seen you kind of talking a little bit different,
so you move in a little bit different. I don't
know you like that, but you seem to be comfortable
in the limelight a little bit more. You seem to
be comfortable being a champion and having the attention. Like
you just seem settled. And then I've seen you. I
always see you with your family, So it's like those
are always good signs when you see a guy with
(23:17):
his wife and with his kids, not just for a
photo a while, but like this is my real crew, Like
I really be with him, and that's what.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
It seemed like for you.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
So man, it's dope, brother, And I still see you
evolving as a fighter and as a man.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
And then also now, like I don't like we talk
about this stuff all time, all the stuff I've been through.
Speaker 4 (23:34):
I'm not really ashamed of myself.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
I just feel like all the stuff that I've been
through I could tell somebody else. And then that way,
they don't have to go through the same thing I
went through. That's right, because a lot of a lot
of people go through this stuff. Just a lot of
people don't talk up about it, you know what I mean.
And I've already been crucified, so I might as well
just keep talking about it, you know what I mean.
And I don't want to help the whole world. If
I if I could help one person not make the
(23:57):
wrong mistakes, then that's good for me.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
And hopefully they watching, you know, because sometimes that your
life is speaking without saying nothing. And if dudes are
really paying attention to you as a whole, not just
the boxing, but your life, man, they gonna pick up
a lot, bro, because you're doing a great job, bro,
And I'm proud of you. Man, I see them coming
into your own Take me back, talk a little bit
more about about the weight issues as a kid, and
(24:21):
you talked a little bit about it, but how you
really overcame that? And then like, what's your message to
kids that are struggling with obesity and being overweight?
Speaker 3 (24:29):
So my message to the kids about OBEs and being overweight,
First of all, all the stuff that they put out,
whether it's the gas station, chips, juice, fast food. If
it's not being cooked at home, it's all bad. It's
literally it's all bad. Also, you need to you know,
you need to drink a lot of water. You know,
you need to stay I feel like with the kids.
(24:50):
It starts in the mentality. You know, you gotta work,
you gotta work out, you gotta go run, you gotta
make yourself feel good, you gotta look good so you
can become the best version of yourself. And it's it's
not gonna happen overnight, you know, especially losing weight. That's
probably one of the hardest things to go through.
Speaker 4 (25:04):
But you know, if you.
Speaker 3 (25:05):
Really want it, you could do anything that you want.
You could manifest anything you want. So first, when you
take care of the weight, you start looking good, you
start feeling good, you start performing good, you start really
being who you want to be, you know what I mean.
And that's that's what it's been like for me now too.
I really could be the best version of myself and
I really get to I'm able to motivate other people,
(25:25):
and you know, I'm really happy with that now.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
The world, No, you can fight. What type of businessman
is David Benavidez. How do you handle your business offline
with it's time to negotiate a fight or okay, you
got your check? Like what type of stuff are you
into investment wise? Like what type of business man is
David Benavida?
Speaker 3 (25:41):
So right now, you know, the one thing that I'm
into more is the real estate. You know, I got
a couple homes, and then now I finally got into
what I really wanted to get into, is is food.
Speaker 4 (25:52):
I got my food truck business.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
It's called the Easy BATCHI isn't it being Miami, So
you know that's something I wanted to get into. And
just honestly, right now, just real estate and that, and
then I don't really like putting too much things on
my plate because at the end of the day, boxing
means the most to me. And if something's taking my
energy away from boxing, and I take it out completely.
Speaker 2 (26:11):
Back to Canelo, when did you first set your sights
on him as an opponent?
Speaker 1 (26:15):
Not just oh, that's a good fighter.
Speaker 3 (26:18):
I set my sights on him once. I think it
was after that second Galufkin fight, because he was fighting
at one sixty and obviously I'm at one sixty eight,
so I knew it was inevitable him coming up, you know,
but I always knew that I was I was a
problem for him because I was never I was never
at the forefront of you know, when he mentions the fight,
(26:39):
you know, it was never David Benabia's first. It was
kayleab Plant or Callum Smith, Billy Joe Sanders, you know,
so he just really kept he never like really mentioned me.
I don't know if that's like a pride thing because
I'm Mexican as well and he's Mexican, or if he.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
Just really thinks I'm that much of a threat.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
But you know, I knew. I knew one day people
were going to ask for that fight. And I feel like,
now this is it's amazing how much attention this fight
is getting. And I think I'm even winning more right now,
the more he's putting it off because people are seeing, like,
what if he was not they offered him seventy million
to fight me.
Speaker 1 (27:15):
That's before payp per That's a real number.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
That's bef Yes, you guys could call Luis Tokolos out
Hayman and ask him that before fighting me. So imagine
after pay per view and then with me. So what
Canelo does, he doesn't. He pays the guy's flat fee.
He had They had offered me five million dollars, and
I said, cool, they offered you. Somebody called Samson lucaw
Haz called us and said, before the Hymen McGill fight,
said hey, will you guys be willing to fight only
(27:40):
a flat fee of five million dollars. You're not getting
no pay per view, none of that. And I said, yes,
I heard it from that's from Samson Lucas. That's why
I heard it from. I didn't hear from Canelo, none
of his team, but we had agreed.
Speaker 4 (27:52):
We said yes. Then we never heard back.
Speaker 3 (27:54):
But I think what they were trying to do there
is they're just trying to They're just trying to you know.
They were calling the bay out. They wanted to see
if I was gonna say yes or no. I think
they thought they were gonna that I was gonna say no,
I'm not gonna fight for five million dollars, you know
what I mean. There was his fight's worth way more so.
I mean I called the bluff. I said yes, and
that was the last time we ever heard about that fight.
But like I said, this fight is inevitable. You know,
(28:16):
everybody's asking for it. This is the biggest fight that
could possibly be made. And I'm not scared of the Canelo.
I feel like I could beat him, you know what
I mean. That's basically what I'm doing with with David Merrew.
David Meryrow has been talking a lot saying that I
can't beat him, and what am I doing. I'm going
and facing him, and that's what a true champion should do.
If I'm sitting here telling Canelo, I can knock him
out and I can beat him, why didn't he just
(28:36):
come shut me up and make a lot of money.
That's what he's doing now. He's fighting easier opponents and
winning thirty million dollars And I'm not nobody to talk
about money like it's not a lot of money. But
if he fights me, he's making triple that, So it
just make it make sense.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
I don't like getting into you know, is a fighter scared?
Because you know to me, it's more like like I
guess the question is do you think it's it's fear
on his part or is it more just that's a
bad style.
Speaker 3 (29:04):
I don't I don't like I said, I don't think
any fight are scary to either. But I feel like
he knows that it's the toughest fight and that in
his head he potentially knows that he could lose. That's
what I know. I know that for a fact. That's
why I know he's not taking this fight. I don't
think that he's scared of me. I think he will
fight me, but I know he knows that if he
(29:25):
loses this fight, then what else is You know, he's
probably gonna retire. So that's a big that's a big
if for him, and that's why I stand on that.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
So you still you still believe it's gonna happen one.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
Day, I think it. So my plan is right now
being David Morrell growing up winning the undispeeded titles, and
in that way I can entice a fight with Canelo.
Maybe we could do a catchweight one two. I don't
know if they they'll allow it, but you willing to
do that. I'm willing to do that for both the
titles one sixty eight, one seventy five on them.
Speaker 4 (30:00):
One was the last time I was ever done.
Speaker 2 (30:01):
It's a long time Leonard did something like that.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
Yeah, exactly, And it would would be the most money.
It's be the highest paid fight of all boxing in
my opinion, and then it is possible that could happen
because you see Tyson Fury, what he got one hundred
and fifty million or something like that. Who sit got
like one hundred and fifty million?
Speaker 1 (30:19):
Crazy?
Speaker 3 (30:19):
So I mean, I don't I think what Canelo was doing.
He's putting the price out there too. He's letting people
know how much the cost is. And now you see
he did it. He met with Turkey ally Sheet. So
I feel like we're in good position right now. But
like I said, I always keep my thoughts of my
opponent in front of me, and we're not thinking about
Canola now, we're thinking of David Morrell. And then after
(30:40):
that we're we're in a window undisputed title.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
Out of plant Andre Rose Dick. Who's your toughest opponent today?
Speaker 3 (30:50):
To be honest with you, I feel like the slickeest
fighter I fought was planted because he moved around a lot,
he knew how to use the ring. He's hugging a lot.
Any Bayless is messed up that fight too. He didn't
give him no warnings. But the toughest fight that I
went through, was pint my last fight because it's so
much injuries. You know what, I had a month and
a half, torn the tendant a month before the fight.
(31:13):
Fractured this because you know, when you hurt one hand
and you still got a spar you're preparing for a
good opponent. You can't just stop sparring. You know, you
gotta work the other hand because this might happen in
the fight. So I'm working the hand, working the hand.
I throw a hook or an uppercut to the guy's
head in the middle of the head right here, and
that messed it up. So then, you know, I try
to let it heal for like a couple more weeks,
(31:35):
two weeks, and then I sparred and then this was
I was the sparring session was going good, hands weren't hurting.
Speaker 4 (31:41):
You know, I was touching.
Speaker 3 (31:42):
The last round, I go back to the corner, I
freaking get.
Speaker 4 (31:45):
Hit right there. I get split ten stitches.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
And then so when I was you know, me and
my mindset at that time, you know, I had to
block everything out. You know, I didn't care about that
because this was a really big card, me and Tanker fighting,
and I know a lot of people are looking forward
to that. So I didn't I didn't give up on that.
But when I was doing myths in the in the
back room, I felt my hand swooing up.
Speaker 4 (32:08):
This started hurting something. Man, it's gonna be a long.
Speaker 1 (32:10):
Night, yeah, man.
Speaker 3 (32:13):
But we get in there, bro, and it was a
good fight. You know, I'm happy with the performance I
put in there because there's a world class fighter, you know,
don't need loss the start to better be it. But
that was definitely had to dig deep for them. But
that's the type of experience you have to go through
let you know who you are, and that let me
know I would never give up on anything.
Speaker 1 (32:31):
I love it. I love it.
Speaker 2 (32:32):
You know people, you know, the fans and stuff, they
look at like a hardship in a fight, like a
knockdown or you know, a bad performance, or maybe you
didn't look your best like you said. But it's it's overcoming,
that's what That's what gives you.
Speaker 1 (32:44):
Them notches on the belt.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
When you start taking that competition up higher and you start,
you know, raining over a division. You know, it's not
if you step on the land line, it's.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
When you're gonna step on the lamb. How you react,
But you gotta know, I didn't been through this. I'n't
been through that. Overcame that.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
So the fans they a lot of times they think
of flawless performance.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
Oh he's unbeatable.
Speaker 2 (33:02):
It's like he may have some weakness that you don't
know about until he's tested in a certain type of way.
But when you got to deal with injuries and everything
in you is like, man, pull out the fight and
you pushed through, and maybe the performers weren't amazing, but
I got through that thing.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
Man, that's another strike. Yeah, that's another strike.
Speaker 4 (33:19):
Feels amazing.
Speaker 3 (33:20):
Honestly, it feels amazing because, like you said, I was
just close.
Speaker 4 (33:24):
Pointing out the fight.
Speaker 3 (33:25):
But the reason for me not pointing out the fight
and going through the fight, and it feels like one
of the biggest victories in my career.
Speaker 1 (33:33):
I know.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
But to tell the people if they don't know where
you got the name the Monster Front.
Speaker 3 (33:37):
My promoter Samson Lucaw it is when I first started
to call me ja. You know. I liked it, you know,
but I feel like, you know, it's kind of time
for something different. We went to go through the podcast
of Mike Tyson. Mike Tyson was freaking the best person ever.
Speaker 4 (33:52):
And he's like, man, you know what you like a
Mexican Monster?
Speaker 3 (33:55):
Like I like, that's it right there. You know, the
people liked it, so you know we stuck with it.
You know, the Mexican Monster and the monster, the monster
in Spanish, it's at the monster in English, the Mexican Monster.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
Man, you're creeping up on thirty, bro, And it's when
you start really like the game starts getting fun. Is
the game slowing down for you now where it's just
you just get like, let me ask you this, Let
me ask you this way. What type of fighter are
you right now in your career?
Speaker 3 (34:21):
Right now, I feel like I'm coming in my prime
and now really the best out of me is coming out.
And I've put the groundwork in Bro, I'll put the
leg work, and I've been professional eleven years. You know,
I've made a name for myself, so now it's just
time to solidify my name. That's why every time I
go in the fight, I'm really trying to hurt these people.
I'm not just trying to win the fight. I'm trying
(34:41):
to win all the fights after that to let these
people know that I am the best and I'm nothing
to play with. And that's the way I am right now.
You know. I love going in there and I love being.
Speaker 1 (34:50):
The dude up.
Speaker 3 (34:51):
I really love being Look like you enjoyed it because
by the time I've, like I said, I've been fighting
like that my whole life. By the time the fight
is over, and when you know you beat the heck
out of them and say, yeah.
Speaker 4 (35:00):
You were the best, that feels the best.
Speaker 3 (35:02):
That feels really good, like I told you, Like I
told you, I told you you.
Speaker 1 (35:07):
Like that in real life, Bro, you just flip a switch.
Speaker 3 (35:09):
Nah, I just flip a switch. Honestly, bro, people know me.
I'm the nicest guy in the world. I don't really
like violence. I don't like none of that. I don't
like getting to altercation, none of that. But when it's
time to go, it's time to go. Not to say
I'm gonna let somebody punk me, Like obviously I'm not
gonna let nobody do that, but I feel like every
man has to be like that. You have to be
cool if somebody comes and tries, so you gotta flip
that switch, you know. Fortunately for me, you know, people
(35:32):
don't try me in the street and nothing like that.
Speaker 4 (35:34):
Obviously I can't do nothing.
Speaker 3 (35:35):
But once it gets to the fights, you know, I'm
not gonna let all other fighter punk me.
Speaker 4 (35:38):
I'm not gonna let nobody look at me.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
I'm not gonna let nobody this dude look at me
say he's gonna knock me out. So I'm not gonna
let that happen.
Speaker 1 (35:45):
You're in a light heavyweight division.
Speaker 2 (35:46):
Now, what were your thoughts on Arthur better Bev and
dmitriy Bebo.
Speaker 3 (35:51):
I thought it was a great fight. I thought, to
be honest with you, I thought bevore one. I thought
Bevoll outlanded him. I thought the ring generalship was there.
Archer may have heard him a little bit more, but
I think, in my opinion, it was a razor thing
close fight. But I think Devol did exactly what was
necessary to win win the fight.
Speaker 1 (36:11):
I thought he did too.
Speaker 2 (36:12):
You know, he definitely had some moments where a body
language wasn't good, and if the judges are swaying, they
can look and and better be Of looked like he
was in command.
Speaker 1 (36:20):
But I thought Bevoll did or not.
Speaker 3 (36:22):
I thought, I honestly thought when when better Beev was
hitting him, I thought he was just being smart and
not throwing anything back, because sometime it looked like he
was getting hurt when he was kind of coming back,
I thought he was just letting better be of out
throw himself and then him coming back with his his offense.
Speaker 4 (36:37):
But it was a close fight.
Speaker 3 (36:39):
That's why those two, that's why the best fighters at
won seventy five.
Speaker 4 (36:42):
But that's why they're both champions.
Speaker 1 (36:43):
How do you think the rematch is gonna go similar?
Speaker 3 (36:46):
I think Devo is gonna win again. Not not to
say that, you know both the guys can make they
can't make any adjustments. I mean that's why they're great fighters.
I think they can make adjustments. But if the fight
goes the same way, I think Bevol wins again.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
You talked a little bit already about David Morell and
why you want to fight him.
Speaker 1 (37:02):
But that's an easy dude to side step.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
Don't have a big name, yet extremely skillful. Can hear
god ped agree that that's one of them dudes that
most people say, give me another name. Why didn't you
do that?
Speaker 3 (37:13):
Because I'm not like everybody else, Like I said, I'm
here to have my name known for generations. You know,
with me, I want to fight the best fighters, because
I already know what happens when I get in the
ring with the great fighter, the best out of me
comes out, you know what I mean? And this is
what I want. This is what we're here for. We
want to give the tough fights and I want no
easy fights. I want to go in there and leave
(37:33):
it all out in the ring and people say, wow,
David is an amazing fighter. He doesn't shy away from nobody,
really lets it all out for everybody to see.
Speaker 4 (37:40):
And I've always been like that, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (37:42):
I feel like now this is what I want to
solidify in my career that, you know, like the old
school fighters. It's like how you were. You know, you
fought the best, you never dodged nobody, and you went
in there you beat.
Speaker 4 (37:53):
The heck out of everybody. So that's exactly what I
want to do.
Speaker 3 (37:55):
I want to follow in the footsteps with great fighters
and Hall of Fame fighters like yourself.
Speaker 2 (37:59):
So you feel like for show when the competition is better,
I know I'm a round yes, no doubt about it.
You gotta do the kickoff press conference. It's a lot
of back and forth, which is to be expected. It's
a fight, you know, and y'all are announcing a fight,
but then you had an open workout in Miami, I
believe it was, and you put hands on him and
Morell came back.
Speaker 1 (38:19):
And through the belt.
Speaker 2 (38:20):
But your defense is on point that day, my boy,
because that thing just missed you. I said, if he
hit him with that belt, it might have been over.
Speaker 1 (38:26):
We might not be having a fight.
Speaker 2 (38:28):
Tell me about that open workout and just that whole scene.
Speaker 3 (38:30):
So David Morrell, he just tries to act like he
tries to act super tough for the camera. You don't
think that's real. You don't think that's I thought it
was real. I thought it was real. But that's what
I'm saying what led up to that. So when we
were at the press conference, the first one, we're talking
all this and that, and I'm talking tough to David Morrell,
and then he comes up after the press conference is done,
and then he shakes my hand, give me.
Speaker 1 (38:51):
After all of that first got you? Got you.
Speaker 3 (38:55):
So then when we go to the press conference over there,
you know, it was my birthday actually, so I'm already
good mood.
Speaker 4 (39:00):
I'm walking in and as you can see, I went
to go.
Speaker 3 (39:03):
Shake his hand, but throw all my people are as
a gym. I train at ye. And then he did
just shake my hand, mate, and I held it out
there like, bro shake my hand, shake my hand, and
he didn't shake my hand. That got me heated. So
I'm like, oh, we're gonna fight anyway, I might as
well push them and see what's up. I'm gonna test
his temperature push them. But this is how I know
he's scared of me, because he threw the belt at me.
(39:23):
If I throw my belt at you, I'm trying to
hit you in the head and that when I hit you,
the fight is gonna be canceled. So me seeing him.
Speaker 4 (39:31):
Throw his belt at me, you know he's already he's
already looking.
Speaker 3 (39:33):
For a way out, you know what I mean. I
would never throw my belt at you or anybody because
there's kids, there's people here. If I get if I
hit somebody in the head, it's gonna bust.
Speaker 1 (39:40):
You feel like he should came back within sid did something.
Speaker 3 (39:42):
Yeah, he should push me something like that. Yeah, But
you know, at the end of the day, this is
it's good making for TV because because you got to
sell the fight as well. You know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (39:54):
Now, that I'm getting into pay per views and all
this stuff.
Speaker 3 (39:56):
You know, you you kind of have to do a
lot of those shenanigans to sell the fight, you know
what I mean, And people are more interested.
Speaker 1 (40:01):
You know.
Speaker 3 (40:02):
We had a good press conference, had a good back
and forth, and the good thing about this is I
know this is going to sell a lot because none
of this is fake. These are the fights that are
not fake, are the ones that saw a lot, like
Crawford and my brother. You don't remember when my brother
pushed Crawford and Crawford right swung at him. Yeah, So
this stuff like that just keeps people on their edge,
and that's all the makings of a great fight.
Speaker 1 (40:22):
Bro, what's going on withouta testing?
Speaker 2 (40:23):
But I see I see you speaking out against about
Morell not signing it.
Speaker 1 (40:27):
That is not hard to sign up for. So what's
going on with that?
Speaker 3 (40:31):
So me, I've been tested more by bat than anybody,
you know what I mean? And I really want to
talk about this, but now we're talking about this. When
I fought Caleb Plant, so when I signed for this fight,
I already knew months in advance. I knew like four
or five months ago when I signed. When I fought
Caleb Plant. We started testing like fourteen weeks out. Demetrius
started testing twelve weeks out. Both six started testing eleven weeks.
Speaker 4 (40:54):
Out before the fight, before the fight, so.
Speaker 3 (40:57):
No, no, So it was like eleven weeks to the fight,
so like three months four months I had with David Meryl.
The only reason I bring stuff up because stuff people
say stuff. Other fighters have said that they got test,
that they had to test Vada and that they didn't,
that David Meryl didn't test bad, and then after the
fights they weren't testing for drug test. So I'm kind
(41:19):
of looking at that like okay, Like I keep telling
these guys about the drug test. They keep saying next week,
next week, next week, that their team David merrels I
have sent all my stuff. I've sent all my stuff.
I'm like, I'm ready to go, let's test, like all
the we're just wait with this, you know what I mean.
And then by the time it got to week nine,
(41:39):
I'm not lying about anything.
Speaker 4 (41:41):
I've screenshots of everything.
Speaker 3 (41:42):
If they're not gonna test, I'm gonna cancel the fight.
I don't give a none of this, Like where bad
is here for a reason? Why why are they not testing.
So then I tell them if they're not here by
them all, we're going to cancel the fight. They were
thereby they got there the next day. But that's what
I'm saying. It shouldn't even been like that. Why am
(42:02):
I calling Vada? Why am I telling them? Like where's
why don't we gonna start testing? This is a big fight,
you know what I mean. I'm sure you would feel
the same way, like, oh, we got two months and
a half, like why haven't we why haven't we tested yet?
So I mean, and then from also, I mean, you
can look it up yourself. There's people talking about David
Merrell that he didn't test this and that his fighters
(42:22):
that he's previously fought. So I'm looking at this stuff.
I'm like, bro, these guys are not gonna get over
them me Like, if you want to beat me, come
do it, Come do it the right way. Don't be
cheating it, you know. So that that was my thing
about that they've been doing their job now phenomenally. So
they have been testing, and they've been testing now. Yeah,
once I made it so when I when I said that,
I didn't say nothing. I didn't want to say nothing
(42:43):
about this, but when we're doing that press conference, David
Morrell said that I have, uh that everybody that my
team is drug addicts that we take, we take steroids
in that all that stuff. So that's why I just
let it go. I'm like, bro, you're not to tell
me that we're taking steroids. And we've been on top
of you guys trying to get the VATA testing. So
(43:03):
that's the whole thing about that. But now the bat
has been doing the job. We've been testing good and
everything's been.
Speaker 2 (43:08):
When did he start you think we started opponentest?
Speaker 3 (43:12):
Yeah, so it started nine weeks when it was a
week nine until the fight, So from nine weeks to
the fight, so it would have been like two months
and a half once we started testing.
Speaker 1 (43:22):
Ok yeah, Okay, how.
Speaker 2 (43:24):
Do you envision this fight playing out? February first?
Speaker 3 (43:28):
This is gonna be the best fight of my career
so far, the best performance because you know, you know,
when you get to them, you get them camps where
sometimes stuff ain't good, But then you get the camps
where physically, emotionally, mentally you're getting your rounds in, you're
getting the runs in. You've been training for like three
and a half months and everything is just flowing good
(43:49):
and even when you when you vision stuff in your head,
it's looking amazing. So for me this fight, I'm gonna
go in there. I'm gonna put on a great performance
and I'm definitely gonna I'm going in to try to
knock David Morle, which if if I get it or not,
I don't know, but I'm definitely gonna beat David Morroe.
But I'm gonna be in there trying to hurt him
every single round.
Speaker 2 (44:08):
You think he's gonna bang with you, You think he's
gonna try.
Speaker 3 (44:10):
To move and be up, He's gonna be He's definitely
gonna try to I think he's gonna move around. First
he's in a he's in a box, and then I might,
you know, entice him to a firefight, you know. But
if it's for me to hunt him down, me to
cut the distance, me to counter while he's trying to
counter me, I'm one hundred percent ready for everything.
Speaker 2 (44:27):
You take care of your business February first, you got
better be a B ball rematch. Are your sights are
set on the winner? Right? That's why you have to
like in the light headway division, right?
Speaker 4 (44:36):
Yeah, who would.
Speaker 1 (44:38):
You rather fight?
Speaker 3 (44:39):
I sparred before. I spared him a lot of times,
so I know him. I know him personally, I know
him more as a style. But I feel like both
those men I have to be at one hundred and
ten percent because both of them, you know, they're they're
the top, there's elite, they're the upper echelon fighters. So
I don't know I'll beat both of them.
Speaker 2 (44:57):
But but you definitely want either one.
Speaker 3 (44:59):
I want either one of them, yeah, but that would
definitely be a great fight. But if we're not able
to get that fight, I would love to go up
to cruiserweight and fight sud Ramirez really. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (45:08):
I sparred him a lot too, and spar him a lot.
Speaker 3 (45:11):
I feel like we owe it to each other because
every time would spar to be a pay per viewer,
pay per view cruiser cruiserweight, Yeah, you.
Speaker 1 (45:17):
Would skip light heavy and just go up.
Speaker 3 (45:19):
I would try to go up and try to fight
and then come back down if I'm allowed.
Speaker 2 (45:24):
Man, I want to see that too, bro. But I
think the light heavyweight thing, I think that the undisputed.
Speaker 4 (45:30):
Yeah, no, yeah, definitely, That's what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (45:32):
I just feel like, if there's an opportunity, if there's
an opportunity to me to go up to one the cruiserweight,
I would definitely take it if there's no other fight.
If I'm not able to get that fight, because there
might be a rubber match if the first fight, if
the second fight is like the first fight, it might
be a third.
Speaker 1 (45:48):
And win going at it again.
Speaker 3 (45:50):
Yeah, And who am I to be like, oh no,
he has to fight me first. I mean, these good
guys put together tremendous fight, Like you got to give
them the respect that they deserve.
Speaker 1 (45:58):
Absolutely, I got two more for you. I'm gonna let
you go.
Speaker 2 (46:01):
It looks like we might be getting Crawford Canelo if
that fight happens.
Speaker 1 (46:06):
How do you see that fight playing out?
Speaker 3 (46:08):
To be honest with you, I feel like Crawford is
a great fighter, and I know he's gonna come in
extremely prepared. I just feel like Canelo, he's more comfortable
at that weight.
Speaker 4 (46:19):
At one sixty eight.
Speaker 3 (46:20):
Could we see Crawford. He'd look great in his fight,
but you know, he struggled a little bit. I won
fifty four, so that's going up two weight classes, you
know what I mean. But Crawford is Crawford. He's a
king and he's he's an all time great for a reason,
so I wouldn't be surprised if he wins. I wouldn't
be surprised if you lose.
Speaker 1 (46:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (46:36):
Yeah, it's one of them kind of fights. You know,
it's got two great fighters. You got the weight differential.
But it's intriguing for show. Yeah, it's intriguing for show.
If I can't get Canelo Benavidez, those are two fights
I've been calling for. Cannelo Benavidez or Cannelo Crawford.
Speaker 1 (46:50):
Give me one of those times.
Speaker 4 (46:51):
It's a great fight, and.
Speaker 2 (46:52):
Obviously I know it's one you want, you know, last one, bro, Like,
are you one of them guys that feel like, man,
I'm trying to fight until I can't fight no more?
Or do you have a plan in your mind and
sort of an extra strategy or age? It's like, man,
I'm gonna start winding it down. I want to go
out like this.
Speaker 3 (47:08):
So from what I see, like all time greats, honestly
the only one that's really actually stepped away and just kept.
Speaker 4 (47:15):
It like that as you.
Speaker 3 (47:16):
But I mean, I don't want to be boxing for
it's kind of like a double a sword. I don't
want to say, I don't want to be boxing forever,
but I do want to box forever, you know what
I mean. So right now, what I'm thinking of is
maybe thirty five, I got another ten years of me,
you know, probably thirty six, just getting all my stuff
in order, like my businesses and my houses that I
get so by the time I get to that age,
(47:37):
I don't have to do anything, you know, because at
the end of the day, it sucks to say, but
a lot of boxers they really don't know how to
manage their money. And most of the time that's why
we come back into the sport because we we messed
up all the money that we had coming up. And
when it gets to that time, you know, we still
have to make money. So I don't want to I
want to leave the boxing of my terms and I
don't want to come back only. I don't want to
(47:59):
just come back for money. So maybe like another ten years.
Speaker 2 (48:03):
Ten years, Bro, that's a lot of that's a lot
of hardware, that's a lot of belts. Yeah, that's a
whole lot of money. Brother man.
Speaker 1 (48:09):
Brother, thank you for your time.
Speaker 3 (48:11):
Bro.
Speaker 1 (48:11):
I appreciate you.
Speaker 3 (48:11):
Man.
Speaker 1 (48:12):
We're excited about February.
Speaker 2 (48:13):
First and Uh, we're gonna be in the building, bro man.
Speaker 1 (48:16):
That's a rap. That's another episode of The Art Award Camp.
Been to be there.
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