Benavidez Rejects Alcatraz Fight: “Takes Away From the Sport”

David Benavidez says Turki Alalshikh wanted him to fight at the San Francisco landmark, Alcatraz, but he said he wasn’t interested in battling at the old prison grounds. WBC and WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight champion Benavidez stated that innovative places that Turki wants to stage his events, like Alcatraz and Times Square, “take away from the sport.”

Benavidez Rejects Alcatraz Fight

Crowd sizes are limited in places like that, and Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) prefers to fight in locations where a lot of fans can enjoy his fights rather than it being a select few. That was one of the criticisms about the Times Square event in New York City. A small, hand-picked crowd attended, many of them rich, famous boxers and athletes.

Benavidez will fight against Anthony Yarde and Callum Smith in August or September. He seems more interested in fighting Callum because he holds the WBO interim 175-lb title. ‘The Mexican Monster’ wants to force unified three-belt champion Dmitry Bivol to fight him. The way to do that is to box him in.

“The thing about Turki is he kept telling me he wanted me to fight in June on Alcatraz. And I’m like Alcatraz, the jail. I’m not really trying to do that,” said David Benavidez to Pound 4 Pound With Kamaru and Henry. ”

The scenery of Alcatraz would be interesting for fans attending and watching on television. For people who haven’t been there, it’s beautiful with the water and the view of San Francisco. It would be helpful for Benavidez’s career to fight on Alcatraz because it would bring him a lot of attention.

“The thing I like about Turki is he’s being really innovative, but also what takes away from the sport is if you’re trying to have fights at a certain place, like Alcatraz and Times Square, now you’re taking away the fans to go see it. Who’s going to go?” said Benavidez.

Primarily, boxing fans from the Bay Arena in Northern California would attend the Alcatraz event. Getting to the island requires a ferry, but it would be a larger crowd than the Times Square event.

Preferring Traditional Arenas

“I’ll watch, but for me as a fighter, I’m not fighting at Alcatraz. There’s something about the fights. During fight week, you see the fans riled up,” said Benavidez when asked if he prefers to fight at venues like the T-Mobile Arena.

Benavidez has made up his mind about Alcatraz. He may regret turning down this venue, because whoever headlines there will receive a lot of attention worldwide. He has a narrow view of it, perhaps thinking about it being a prison at one time, but fighting would be a positive for his career.

“You’re going to the fights, and you see the fans going crazy,” said Benavidez. “There’s nothing like that. I’m a modern-day warrior. I like feeling the energy from the crowd. When you feel the energy, you hit someone in the face. ‘Ah.’

“You come in boxing and you try to f*** up s*** that’s already been set for years. It’s going to start some s***,” said Benavidez about Turki. “With Bivol, I’m not happy getting my title like that. I’d rather win it.”