David Benavidez cuts and stops Anthony Dirrell via TKO in 9

Anthony Dirrell gave a brave performance against the younger David Benavidez, but couldn’t last the fight. Benavidez regained the WBC title.

Anthony Dirrell came into his Sept. 28 pay-per-view bout with David Benavidez as the WBC super middleweight champion, but at 34 years old, he was 12 years older than Benavidez. Youth proved more valuable than experience.

It was a cautious first minute in round 1. Benavidez came forward, and Dirrell stayed focused while moving around the ring. Dirrell put punches to Benavidez’s body early. Dirrell’s hand speed looked good for a 34-year-old. He won the round with his activity.

Dirrell threw his jab often at the start of round 2. Benavidez stepped up his punch count, but he kept a measured pace. His right hand got more aggressive and got close to landing, but was missed much of the time. Benavidez won the round by controlling the action.

Dirrell boxed well to start round 3. He jabbed and moved without taking any damage. Benavidez stepped up his attack midway through the round, but Dirrell fought back. Benavidez trapped Dirrell on the ropes in the last minute and landed several punches, but Dirrell reversed positions and caught Benavidez on the ropes which made it a challenging round to score.

In round 4, Dirrell continued to box well, but he ate several Benavidez jabs. The dynamic of the fight favored Dirrell. He stayed on the outside and avoided a brawl. In the last 10 seconds, Dirrell pinned Benavidez to the ropes which looked good for him and swung the round in his favor.

Benavidez scored well with the jab in round 5. It was his most reliable punch, and he landed it regularly. Benavidez unleashed a flurry of hooks on Dirrell that had steam on them. It was Benavidez’s best round of the fight up to that point.

Dirrell bounced back in round 6. Benavidez abandoned the jab and swung for the fences, but missed his biggest punches. A large cut opened up above Dirrell’s right eye, but the doctor allowed the fight to continue. It was a left-right combination that opened the wound.

Dirrell ran for most of round 7. He sensed he was in serious trouble due to the cut and landed low on Benavidez possibly to stall the action. When the fight resumed, Benavidez hammered Dirrell with two hooks, but the match was stopped again for the doctor to examine Dirrell’s cut.

He again let the fight continue. Dirrell came out of the break charged up, but Benavidez met his aggression.

Before the start of round 8, the doctor examined Dirrell’s eye for the third time and again let the fight continue. Dirrell began the round with hooks to Benavidez’s body. Benavidez forgot about his jab and threw looping hooks. His left hook was accurate and landed on Dirrell. His left hand became increasingly accurate in the last 30 seconds, and Dirrell looked hurt.

Round 9 was all Benavidez. He used every punch in his arsenal. Benavidez used the jab to set up his power punches, and Dirrell bounced wearily off the ropes around the ring like a pinball. Dirrell couldn’t answer back, and the referee stopped the fight.

Benavidez regained his WBC title via round 9 TKO. Now that Benavidez is a champion again, a unification bout with Caleb Plant is a serious possibility. That would be the biggest fight in the super middleweight division.