
Picture this! It’s 2018 and the sport of boxing is entering a new era. Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Andre Ward have hung up their gloves while Manny Pacquiao is preparing to enter the final chapter of his career. In the midst of all that, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin are cementing themselves as the leaders of the next era. While all of this is going on, two fighters are on a collision course — Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. Before the two men would ultimately meet in a Las Vegas showdown five years later, Crawford would put his welterweight title on the line against one of the fastest rising stars in the sport, Jose Benavidez Jr. With 27 wins and 18 knockouts, the Los Angeles-born boxer looked to be one of the toughest tests of Crawford’s young career. The previously unbeaten boxer gave Crawford a tough test, but the Omaha native ultimately walked away with a 12th-round stoppage win. Little did fans know, the WBO welterweight title fight would shift the trajectory of Benavidez Jr.’s career.
In the years after the Crawford-Benavidez Jr. title fight, the title challenger would go on to fight just two times in five years. With that said, he picked up a key role in the Creed franchise, headlined an event at the Barclays Center and helped develop the career of his younger brother, David. At 31 years old, the Los Angeles native is ready to enter the next chapter of his career at middleweight.
On Saturday night, Benavidez Jr. returned to the ring for the first time since July 30, 2022. This time around, he went toe-to-toe with Sladan Janjanin. The savvy veteran proved to be durable, but the Creed III star punished him to the body several times, sending him to the canvas twice. Ultimately, the corner of Janjanin stopped the action after five rounds. At just over 31 years old, Benavidez appears ready to kickstart the latest chapter of his career at middleweight.
“I feel good at 160. I feel strong. You know, the weight cut wasn’t, like all the other times draining me, but I felt good. I felt strong. I felt like I belong at 160,” Benavidez Jr. said after the fight.
Back to back stoppages ?
Watch #RodgriuezLopez Prelims NOW: ?https://t.co/CLKFIr5m2E pic.twitter.com/WVAsi6qvBn
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) August 12, 2023