Anthony Dirrell prepares to make the first defense of his WBC super-middleweight title against David Benavidez.
After defeating Avni Yildirim via unanimous decision to claim the vacant belt in February, Dirrell became a two-time WBC world champion.
Dirrell, aged 34, is 12-years older than his opponent and is expecting his experience to be the key ahead of their battle on September 28th.
Anthony Dirrell on Benavidez
“Benavidez is a come forward fighter who throws a lot of punches. You can frustrate him and do what you need to do to counteract that though,” he said.
“I’ve had some tough fights and people think that because of those fights, Benavidez is going to beat me. I feel otherwise.
“I’m the champion. I’m older and smarter. And I’m going to go in there and defend my title successfully.
“I’m an experienced fighter. I’ve been doing this for 25 years going back to my amateur days. He’s only 22-years-old. He can’t possibly know what I can do. He’s going to find out on September 28.
“I can’t only rely on just my experience. I have to throw punches and go in there to execute my game plan.
“Him going for the knockout definitely excites me. We’re going to give the fans something to see. They’re coming to see a knockout and I’m planning to give it to them.”
UNDERDOG
His previous reign as WBC champion saw just one defense against Badou Jack which ended in a points defeat four years ago.
The American enters his fifth world title fight bidding to make a first successful defense of his career with bookmakers and critics alike backing Benavidez for glory – something which has inspired Dirrell.
“Being an underdog is great, it motivates me. I’m fine with it because I can prove everybody wrong at the end of the day. It’s about making history. You can’t make history if you don’t go in there and take a chance.
“I’m ready. We’ve been wanting this fight for over a year. Now it’s here and we’re both ready to go. I’m looking for the knockout and I know he is too.
“I know that I can take a punch, but we’ll see if he can. He’s been dropped before, as have I. I’ve come back from worse than that though. We’re both warriors and we’re both going to be ready to give the fans something to see.”
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