With hundreds and thousands of active boxers, it is very hard to stand out as a fighter and make a name for themselves. While many finish their career as journeyman fighters, it will certainly not be the case with David Benavidez. Despite being a very young fighter, Benavidez has built up quite a career for himself.
As per BoxRec, David has an amateur boxing record of 15-0. Compared to someone like Vasiliy Lomachenko, Benavidez had quite a short amateur career. However, he was always destined for bigger things in his career. David turned pro at the age of 17. David was still months away from his 18th birthday when he took on Erasmo Mendoza.
Benavidez showed why he was being touted as one of the best prospects with a KO win over Mendoza on his debut. He then put on an 8-fight win streak before taking on Rollin Williams for the NABF junior light heavyweight belt. It was a perfect stepping stone for his career, as David won another 9 fights before he had the chance to fight Ronald Gavril for the vacant WBC super middleweight title.
David won the bout via split decision on February 17, 2018. However, after winning the belt, he lost the title on two separate occasions. Once, he tested positive for cocaine, and on another occasion, Benavidez missed weight by 2.8 lbs against Alexis Angulo. He then beat David Lemieux for the interim WBC super middleweight belt. Despite his personal troubles, there is no question regarding the pedigree he has.
Ahead of his interim title defense against Caleb Plant, let’s find out who David Benavidez’s personal trainer is.
David Benavidez’s father Jose Benavidez Sr. is his head trainer
David Benavidez is trained by none other than his father Jose Benavidez Sr. Benavidez was born on December 17, 1996. While fans know his father’s identity, there is not much information regarding his mother. As a young child, David was a very chubby child. There is a very famous video of 13-year-old David Benavidez hitting the pads along with his father and Manny Pacquiao.
So it is incredible that David has shed all that weight and has turned himself into a boxing phenom. But not just Manny, Jose trained with a lot of other fighters including Canelo Alvarez’s arch-nemesis, Gennady Golovkin at a very young age. But it was possible mostly because of his father Jose Benavidez. Jose has trained both David and his elder son Jose Benavidez Jr all their life.
One has to say that Benavidez Sr did a great job with David. Under his tutelage, David Benavidez went on to become the youngest-ever WBC super middleweight champ. He also played a crucial role in making the bout between David and Caleb Plant happen. Following the death of Plant’s infant daughter, Jose added that Caleb was using it as a promotional tool. Although the bout did not happen right away, it certainly planted the seeds.
The incredible life story of Jose Benavidez Sr.
Jose Benavidez Sr is a Mexican boxing trainer. According to his website, Jose has been a student of the sport all his life and has worked with the famous boxing coach, Freddie Roach, for about 4 years. While he has trained both of his sons, Jose has also trained MMA fighters like Ryan Bader and Henry Cejudo. So Jose has not stuck to boxing and has spread his wings into MMA as well.
Although he is now an accomplished boxing trainer, that was not always the case for Jose Benavidez Sr. Born in the 1970s, Jose was abandoned as a child. During an elaborative interview with Sports Illustrated, he added the horrible conditions he lived in. After his father walked out on him, his mother also did the same, leaving him with his grandmother. Due to the lack of food resources, Jose ate stuff out of dustbins and even “dirt.”
It made a lasting impact on Jose who ran with the wrong company and got into trouble. Not only did he associate himself with gangs in Mexico, but he also started one himself that stole radios off cars. But fortunately, he moved to the United States of America and started a job at Ritz-Carlton. There he started to sort his life out and led a good life.
To give his sons the life that he never had, Jose admitted both of his sons to good schools and made them take soccer, swimming, and even baseball classes. But both Benavidez Jr and David were more attracted to boxing and it made Jose take an interest in boxing himself. He was a big fan of Oscar De La Hoya and turned himself into a boxing aficionado. What followed, was history!
