David Benavidez still frequently runs six miles on South Mountain as part of his training for a fight.
His father, José Benavidez Sr., is now the owner of the gym where his sons learned how to box, Central Boxing Gym near the State Capitol, and even though the family has found a new base of operations in the Seattle-Tacoma area, Phoenix remains close to everyone’s heart.
With that in mind, Benavidez planned his next fight, Dec. 5 at Glendale’s Desert Diamond Arena, close to his hometown. That’s where his two cruiserweight championship belts are on the line against Poland’s Michal Cieslak, who holds the WBC cruiserweight title. Benavidez holds the WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles. The December bout would unify all three.
“I’m looking for the hardest fight. If you give me a hard fight, that means a fun night for me,” Benavidez said Friday afternoon, Nov. 6, at Vee Quiva Casino, where he’ll hold an open workout on Nov. 7 for the public. “I’m a competitor, so whatever he (Cieslak) brings to me, I’m going to be 100 percent ready to deal with it like I deal with it.”
Benavidez (32-0) is calling the Dec. 5 fight the biggest of his career, because three titles are on the line. Benavidez has been largely unstoppable over his career, drawing praise from throughout the boxing world for his ability to walk down and punish opponents with precision and fast hands.
The Phoenix area has embraced him, packing arenas when he fights in Arizona and Las Vegas as his career has taken off.
“It’s a blessing,” Benavidez said. “I’m just very happy and blessed that I can achieve this in my hometown, Phoenix, Arizona. Just being here, it makes me really happy because everything I’ve wanted or manifested for myself when I was a little kid, when I envisioned becoming a world champion, it’s playing in real time now.
“People from Phoenix, we’re different. And I’m just happy to continue to show that to the whole world.”
Cruiserweight champ David Benavidez has been working out in Phoenix in preparation for his Dec. 5 fight in Glendale AZ. He’s at Vee Quiva Casino today. 🥊 pic.twitter.com/mMeKE6pGVV
Enjoying this article? Support our work with a small crypto donation.— José M. Romero (@RomeroJoseM) November 6, 2026
Benavidez admitted he never thought he’d become a world champion in three different weight divisions, cruiserweight, light heavyweight and super middleweight. But now he wants to become the best.
“I feel right now that he’s the best fighter in the world,” Jose Benavidez Sr. said of his 29-year-old son. “I think that he’s the face of boxing. … Sky’s the limit. I think he’s going to continue winning, looking impressive and keep breaking records.
Another Arizona fighter, Abel Ramos, will fight on Dec. 19 at San Francisco’s Chase Center, facing leading contender Brian Norman Jr. in a welterweight bout as part of the Devin Haney-Liam Paro welterweight title main event. Ramos, of Casa Grande, is 29-6-3 but hasn’t lost in more than three years.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix’s David Benavidez ready for ‘biggest fight’ of boxing career
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