Best foot forward! WBC eliminatory bout Benavidez vs. Uzcategui

WBC Press

Undefeated former super middleweight champion of the WBC, David “Red Flag” Benavidez, will face the former world champion, José Uzcategui, in a super middleweight eliminatory bout of the World Boxing Council, on Saturday, August 28th, at the “Footprint Center” in Phoenix, Arizona.

Still just 24 years old, Benavidez (24-0, 21 knockouts) enters this fight, on the crest of a wave, after knocking out his last four opponents, including a September 2019 KO of two-time super-middleweight champion Anthony Dirrell.

Most recently, he earned knockout victories over Roamer Alexis Angulo in August 2020 and Ronald Ellis in March of this year. Benavídez is trained by his father José Sr., along with his brother and former title challenger, José Jr. In 2017, he became the youngest super middleweight champion in boxing history by defeating Ronald Gavril aged only twenty.

Born in Venezuela and fighting in Tijuana, Mexico, Uzcátegui (31-4, 26 KOs) captured a 168-pound world title in March 2018 by stopping veteran contender Andre Dirrell after eight rounds. The 30-year-old firmly placed himself in a position to fight for a title, with four consecutive knockout victories from 2015 to 2016, including a win over then-undefeated Julius Jackson.

Since he lost the title to undefeated champion Caleb Plant in January 2019, Uzcátegui rallied, to win three of his last four fights, including 2021 knockout victories over Jaime Hernández López and Josué Obando.

The card will feature the return of contender José Benavídez, David Benavídez’s older brother, facing Argentine Francisco Emanuel Torres, in the co-main event in super welterweight.

Also, undefeated Carlos Castro will face former title challenger Oscar Escandón in a 10-round super bantamweight fight. The Benavídez brothers and Castro hail from Phoenix and have their sights set on impressing fans in their hometown.

The fight, which is promoted by the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) series, and will be televised on Showtime.