Power-punching super middleweight prospect David Benavidez will take on Denis Douglin in the main event of ESPN’s Premier Boxing Champions card on Aug. 5 (9 p.m. ET) at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, PBC announced on Monday. Benavidez (15-0, 14 KOs) will be in his first scheduled 10-round fight when he faces steppingstone opponent Douglin (20-4, 13 KOs).
In the scheduled 10-round co-feature, lightweight up-and-comer Alejandro Luna (20-0, 15 KOs), 24, of Bellflower, California, will face 33-year-old Stephen Ormond (21-2, 11 KOs), of Ireland, who has won four fights in a row since being disqualified in the 10th round for persistent head butting against Terry Flanagan (who later won a world title) in February 2015.
Benavidez, a 19-year-old big hitter from Phoenix, is coming off an action-packed seventh-round knockout of Francy Ntetu on June 25 on the undercard of the Keith Thurman-Shawn Porter welterweight world title fight but he said he went right back into training.
“We never stopped training after my last fight,” said Benavidez, the younger brother of former interim junior welterweight titleholder Jose Benavidez Jr. “We went right back into camp and I’m already in fighting shape. Douglin is a tough southpaw. We’ll start looking at tape and see what kind of holes he has. I’ll start with the jab and break him down. We’re working hard towards bigger and bigger fights. This is going to be a great night of action.”
Douglin, 28, of Marlboro, New Jersey, has won three fights in a row against low-level opponents since he was knocked out in the seventh round by British contender George Groves in November 2014.
“I plan on applying pressure and making Benavidez adjust to my style,” Douglin said. “He’s a tall, strong fighter, but he doesn’t use his height. He’s one-dimensional, but he’s very good at what he does. He doesn’t have the experience to deal with my style. I am stepping in with an undefeated fighter but he will leave the ring with a loss.”
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