David Benavidez

David Benavidez is an undefeated American boxer who became the youngest super middleweight world champion in history.

Anthony David Benavidez was born on 17 December 1996 in Phoenix, Arizona, to a Mexican father and Ecuadorian mother, and began training at his father's gym at just three years old. As a teenager, he struggled seriously with his weight, ballooning to 250 pounds by age 13, before disciplined training helped him shed more than 100 pounds and transform into one of the most feared punchers in modern boxing. Benavidez had only a brief amateur career, and at 16 moved to Mexico to begin fighting professionally, since he was too young to obtain a boxing licence in the United States. He went on to defeat Ronald Gavril in 2017 to become, at 20 years and eight months old, the youngest super middleweight world champion in boxing history. Benavidez, nicknamed "El Bandera Roja" (The Red Flag) and "The Mexican Monster," moved up to light heavyweight in 2024 after struggling to secure a fight against undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Álvarez, defeating Oleksandr Gvozdyk and David Morrell Jr. to become a two-division champion, before adding the cruiserweight title with a dominant stoppage of Gilberto Ramírez. Benavidez has remained undefeated across his professional career, and his identity as a Mexican-American fighter — questioned by some in Mexico given his upbringing in the United States — has become part of the broader conversation around nationality and heritage in the sport's biggest fights.

Aggressive pressure fighter with exceptional power

Dominant super middleweight contender seeking undisputed status

• Youngest super middleweight world champion in history, age 20