David Benavidez admits sparring devastating puncher at 15 and what he learned

On Saturday, November 22, at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, David Benavidez vs Anthony Yarde headlines a stacked Ring IV card. Ahead of his title defence, Benavidez has spoken to Matchroom Boxing, recalling when, at 15 years old, he sparred Gennady Golovkin, and what he learnt from those sessions.

David Benavidez recalls sparring Gennady Golovkin at just 15

Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs), a two-weight world champion, brushed aside all comers at super middleweight before making the move to light heavyweight. Despite the KO wins drying up, Benavidez has continued to march forward with impressive wins over Oleksandr Gvozdyk and David Morrell.

“I started sparring Gennady Golovkin when I was 15 years old, and I became his main sparring partner until I was like 19 years old. The last time I sparred him was when he fought Daniel Jacobs.

“So, I remember a lot about that. Gennady Golovkin — big shout-out to him again. He’s a great man. He’s a great champion in and out of the ring. You know, he really took me under his wing. He showed me a lot. You know, we trained together, we sparred a lot, you know what I mean? And that man, I give him all the credit.

“He’s why I’m in the level I’m at today. Because every time I sparred him, they weren’t sparring sessions. They were real fights, and we were going at it a lot. He’s a fighter, where I learned so much stuff today. Because like I said, those sparring sessions weren’t sparring sessions. We’re both trying to kill each other. 

“So, I had to learn real quick. He had devastating power, so I had to really learn how to use my feet, get out of the way, block, counter, and it made me a better fighter. And it really made me the fighter who I am today. So, you know, I give all the credit to Gennady Golovkin. Those sparring sessions really made me who I am today,” said Benavidez.

David Benavidez vs Anthony Yarde full fight card

• David Benavidez vs Anthony Yarde, 12 rounds, for Benavidez’s WBC and WBA “regular” light heavyweight title
• Brian Norman Jr vs Devin Haney, 12 rounds, for Norman’s WBO welterweight title
• Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez vs Fernando Martinez, 12 rounds, WBC/WBO/WBA super flyweight unification
• Abdullah Mason vs Sam Noakes, 12 rounds, for vacant WBO lightweight title
• Vito Mielnicki Jr vs Samuel Nmomah, 10 rounds, middleweights
• Mohammed Alakel vs Jiaming Li, 6 rounds, super featherweights
• Julio Porras Ruiz vs Pius Mpenda, 6 rounds, super middleweights
• Sultan Almohammed vs Umesh Chavan, 4 rounds, lightweights

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