David Benavidez (El Bandera Roja / Red Flag) pugile

Anthony David Benavidez (born December 17, 1996) is an American professional boxer. He is a two-time WBC super middleweight champion, having held the title from 2017 to 2018 and again from 2019 to 2020. As of July 2021, he is ranked as the world's best active super middleweight by The Ring second by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and fourth by BoxRec.David was born to a Mexican father and an Ecuadorian mother, his older brother, José Benavidez is also a professional boxer. Both brothers are trained by their father. When he was 15, Benavidez's weight ballooned to 250 pounds, as he struggled with dieting and discipline.Benavidez, who started boxing at the age of three, had an amateur record of 15–0.Benavidez made his pro debut at the age of 16, defeating Erasmo Moreno by knockout in one round in Puerto Peñasco. Benavidez won the NABF Junior light heavyweight title, his first belt, against Rollin Williams on April 2015. At the end of 2015, Benavidez had a record of 12 wins, with 11 stoppages and no losses. In October 2015, Benavidez signed a promotional deal with Sampson Lewkowicz's Sampson Boxing.On January 7, 2016 it was announced that Benavidez would start the year against Kevin Cobbs (10-1, 4 KOs) on a Fox Sports 1 edition of PBC Toe-To-Toe Tuesdays on January 18 at Club Nokia in Los Angeles. Prior to the fight, Cobbs was on a 4-fight win streak. Benazvidez started the contest quick and kept Cobbs at a distance. He rocked Cobbs in round 2 on two occasions. After a few clinches, Benazidez hit Cobbs with a flurry of punches, prompting the referee to stop the fight at 1:08 of round 2. Benavidez next fought on April 30 on the undercard of Victor Ortiz vs. Andre Berto II at the StubHub Center in Carson, California. His opponent was Phillip Jackson Benson. Jackson was stopped in round 2 after being hurt many times in the opening round. The fight was scheduled for 8 rounds.