Jose Benavidez - Fighters – Top Rank Boxing

Back to List Jose Benavidez

Weightclass:: Light Welterweight
Age:: 21
Birthplace:: Panorama City, California
Record:: 17-0, 13 KOs

Height:
Reach:: 74
Managers:: Jose Benavidez Sr. (father), Steven Feder
Trainers:: Jose Benavidez Sr.

biography

JOSE BENAVIDEZ JR. (16-0, 13 KOs)...

Twitter: @josebenavidezjr
2009 National Golden Gloves Championships (amateur), 141 pounds – Gold Medalist...

Only 20 years old, Jose is a two-year pro. A sensational prospect at 140 pounds, he is a former amateur standout – at 16, Jose was the youngest boxer to ever win the National Golden Gloves Championships. He was also the youngest professional boxer, at 17, to be licensed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. An exception was made for the minimum age requirement of 18 years because of his exceptional talent.
Top Rank CEO Bob Arum told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “He’s got unbelievable boxing skills, smarts and ability. This kid is a prodigy. He reminds me of Floyd (Mayweather Jr.) when he came out of amateurs or Wilfred Benitez. He’s that special a talent. That’s why we’ve got him on a fast track, because he can handle it.”
Jose has stayed active in the ring and given consistently impressive performances.
He is coming off a fourth-round TKO win against previously undefeated Javier Loya in his last fight on August 4.
After the fight Dan Rafael wrote on ESPN.com [excerpts]: Benavidez was a star amateur who probably would have been competing in the London Olympics had he not turned pro. He is so gifted that he was granted a special waiver by the Nevada State Athletic Commission to begin his pro career when he was 17 instead of waiting until he was 18, which is the rule.
Although he has had some hand issues that have forced him into longer-than-anticipated layoffs, Benavidez is a stud prospect.
Loya was undefeated and game but utterly outclassed. Benavidez was in full command going into the fourth round when he finally stunned Loya and put together a sustained flurry of blows that had Loya on the...

fight history

Fight by Fight – 2012 - in his last fight on 8-4-12 in Las Vegas, NV, he TKOd previously undefeated Javier Loya (7-0): the fight was co-featured with the Diego Magdaleno-Antonio Davis main event, and Jose dominated; he consistently outworked Loya and landed the harder punches; he staggered Loya with a series of punches in the 4tn round, and the referee stopped the fight at 1:41…
On 5-26-12 in Tucson, AZ, he won a 6 round unanimous decision against Josh Sosa (10-2): the bout was co-featured with the Jesus Soto-Karass-Said El Harrak main event, and Jose dominated; Sosa gave a good effort, but Jose consistently outboxed him and landed the harder punches; he bloodied Sosa’s nose in the early rounds and rocked him repeatedly; scored 60-54, 60-54, 59-55…

2011 – on 11-12-11 in Las Vegas he won a 6 round unanimous decision against Samuel Santana (4-4-2): the fight was on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao-Jose Manuel Marquez III main event, and Jose dominated; he scored two knockdowns in the 1st round, then scored another knockdown with a body punch in the 2nd; he scored another knockdown in the 4th round, and won by scores of 60-50 on all three scorecards…
On 9-17-11 in Parker, AZ, he knocked out late substitute Dedrick Bell (6-9): the fight was co-featured at the BlueWater Resort & Casino, and Jose quickly overpowered him; he scored two knockdowns with right hands in the 1st round, and the referee stopped the fight at 1:29…
On 6-11-11 in Chandler, AZ, he TKOd Corey Alarcon (14-17-1): the fight headlined at the Wild Horse Pass Casino, and Jose dominated; he wore down larcon with body punches and scored a knockdown with a right hand in the 2nd round; he scored two more knockdowns in the 3rd, the first with a right hand, the second with a left hook – Alarcon got...

background

AMATEUR, PERSONAL BACKGROUND: Jose Jr. was born in Panorama City, California, but moved with his family to Phoenix, Arizona, when he was two years old...he has two brothers and one sister...his father, Jose Sr., is a native of Arcelia, Guerrero, Mexico, and moved to California at the age of 11...Jose Sr. worked at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Phoenix for almost 14 years, then opened his own business, Glory Boxing, a boxing equipment store...
Jose Jr. started boxing at the age of six and had an amateur record of 120-5...he was trained throughout his amateur career by his father...Jose won his first national title – the 2003 National Silver Gloves – at the age of 11...
From the Las Vegas Sun, by Ray Brewer, Jan. 15, 2010 [excerpts]: Jose Benavidez Sr. never would have predicted that his child would become a professional athlete.
Benavidez enrolled his son, Jose Benavidez Jr., in just about every sport offered in their Phoenix neighborhood when the younger Benavidez was a toddler.
But the result was always the same.
“I took him to all of the sports, but he just wasn’t good at anything,” Benavidez Sr. said.
Then one evening, Benavidez Sr. noticed his son was mesmerized while watching a boxing match on television. Determined to find activities to keep his son off the streets, a way of life the elder Benavidez said nearly led to his death during his teenage years, father and son headed off to the local gym.
The rest is history.
Benavidez Jr., who was just 6-years-old at the time, was instantly hooked on a sport he would soon dominate. Now, he’s being compared to the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Miguel Cotto and is expected to become a star.
“I was just so hyped up and excited from watching boxing. My parents couldn’t calm me down,” Benavidez Jr. said. “I knew that day that boxing was what I...

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