Prospect-Watch: David Benavidez Punishes, Stops Medina in Eight

Laredo Energy Arena, Laredo, Texas, prospect on the watch, Phoenix, AZ native David Benavidez (18-0, 17 KO), 167.75 lbs., stops Rogelio “Porky” Medina (37-8, 31 KO), 166.75 lbs., in eight rounds. The bout started with Medina pressuring Benavidez and landing a series of punches to the body with Benavidez countering effectively off the ropes. After three rounds of ebb and flow, Benavidez rocked Medina with a left uppercut in the fourth. Medina, still on his feet, continued pressing the action despite getting countered at will. Benavidez never looked back, as he continued the onslaught, producing knockdowns in the sixth, seventh and eighth rounds with combinations of hooks and uppercuts to the body and head. At twenty years old, with three and a half years of professional experience and world class sparring with the likes of champions Gennady Golovkin and Peter Quillin, the future looks bright for Benavidez. What’s next? We’ll know when we know.

Austin Dulay, 137.5 lbs., moves to 10-0, 7 KO with a six round unanimous decision over Arturo Esquivel, (10-6). Dulay dropped Esquivel with a straight left in the opening thirty seconds. Another straight left dropped Esquivel with a minute to go in the first. Esquivel went down for the third time at the end of the second round. Esquivel did however come back and occasionally landed the right hand on Dulay. Judges turns three identical scorecards of 59-52.

Jorge Lara (29-0-2, 21 KO), 128.25 lbs., stops Mario Briones in three rounds. It was Lara’s first bout in over a year, when he stopped former three-division champion Fernando Montiel, who has now been relegated to the opponent role now, back in April 2016. Lara took it Briones from the opening bell, landing an assortment of combinations predominantly with right hook leads and straight left crosses. Finding his range and timing quickly, Lara dropped Briones with a left cross midway through the second frame and again right before the bell ended with a looping right hook to the temple. Not even a minute into the third, the accumulated punishment and onslaught was too much for Briones and referee Lee Rogers called a halt to the action.