José Luis Benavidez Jr. (born May 15, 1992) is an American

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

who challenged for the

WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxin ...

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

title in 2018. He is the brother of two-time WBC super middleweight champion

David Benavidez Anthony David Benavidez (born December 17, 1996) is an American professional boxer who has held world championships in two weight classes. He has held the World Boxing Association (WBA) light heavyweight title (WBA (Regular), Regular version) si ...

. He also made his acting debut as Felix Chavez in ''

Creed III ''Creed III'' is a 2023 American sports drama film starring and directed by Michael B. Jordan in his directorial debut, and produced by Irwin Winkler, Charles Winkler, William Chartoff, David Winkler, Ryan Coogler, Michael B. Jordan, Eliza ...

'' (2023).

Early life

Benavidez was born in Panorama City,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. His younger brother,

, is also a professional boxer. In August 2016, he was shot in Phoenix while walking his dog.

Amateur career

Benavidez Jr. was an eleven time national champion, which include the Silver Gloves twice, qualifying for the Junior Olympics and earning a spot on the U.S. National Team, en route to a gaudy 120–5 amateur record. Benavidez is also the 2009 National Golden Gloves Champion in the light welterweight division, making him the youngest ever Golden Gloves Champion at only sixteen years old. He then reached the USA Boxing National Championship's title fight in Denver by beating the 2010 National Golden Gloves Champion Gary Allen Russell. He would lose the final on points 11–9 to Frankie Gómez.

Professional career

Benavidez Jr vs. Crawford

On 13 October 2018, Benavidez Jr fought the unbeaten

Terence Crawford Terence Allan Crawford (born September 28, 1987) is an American professional boxer. He has held multiple quadruple champion#Boxing, world championships in four weight classes, from lightweight to light middleweight, including the undisputed cha ...

for his WBO welterweight title, in what was the first title fight of his career. Benavidez Jr put up a good fight, but was ultimately overmatched by Crawford and lost the bout via TKO in the final round.

Benavidez Jr vs. Torres

In his next bout, Benavidez Jr fought Francisco Emanuel Torres. The bout ended in a majority draw, with one judge seeing Benavidez Jr as the winner, scoring it 96–94, while the other two scored it 95–95.

Benavidez Jr vs. Garcia

In his next bout, Benavidez Jr fought former champion and WBC #5 super welterweight Danny Garcia. Garcia beat Jose Benavidez by majority decision, with the scorecards announced as 116–112, 117–111, 114–114 in favor of Garcia.

Comeback and drugs ban

In his first fight since November 2023, Benavidez Jr knocked out Danny Rosenberger in the fifth of their scheduled eight-round bout at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on 1 February 2025. However, the result was changed to a no contest in June 2025, when he was given a backdated nine-month suspension and fined $3,750 after his post-fight drugs test came back positive for banned substance

Benzoylecgonine Benzoylecgonine is the main metabolite of cocaine, formed by the liver and excreted in the urine. It is the compound tested for in most cocaine urine drug screens and in wastewater screenings for cocaine use. Biochemistry and physiology Chemical ...

Professional boxing record

References

External links

*
Jose Benavidez Jr - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings
a
Box.Live
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Benavidez, José Jr. 1992 births Living people American male boxers Boxers from Arizona Boxers from Los Angeles People from Panorama City, Los Angeles American boxers of Mexican descent Light-welterweight boxers National Golden Gloves champions 21st-century American sportsmen