Benavidez beats Gvozdyk to win interim title in 175-pound debut
David Benavidez triumphed in his first light heavyweight fight, defeating Oleksandr Gvozdyk via unanimous decision (116-112, 117-111, 119-109) to capture the WBC interim 175-pound title Saturday night at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Benavidez has also held the WBC interim super middleweight belt since May 2022.
He was relatively dominant against Gvozdyk, outlanding him 223-163 in total punches. But Benavidez failed to badly hurt or knock his opponent down. Benavidez now has 24 knockouts in 29 pro bouts. He graded his performance a "seven out of 10" and called Gvozdyk a "tough fighter."
Benavidez controlled the action in the first half of the fight, battering Gvozdyk's body and landing blitzing combinations in the pocket. But his punch output decreased toward the eighth round, and Gvozdyk picked up the pace in the final few rounds.
Benavidez will now need to decide between pursuing a super middleweight title bout against Canelo Álvarez or an undisputed light heavyweight title fight against the winner of the Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol clash, which is scheduled for Oct. 12 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Benavidez said he could fight in either division next.
"We're still looking to go back down to 168 to fight for the title," Benavidez said. "Whether it's against Canelo or he vacates. I would like to fight in both these weight classes."
Benavidez now holds a career 29-0 record, while Gvozdyk fell to 20-2.