Jose Uzcategui Thinks David Benavidez Needs Him

After his onslaught against Andre Dirrell, Venezuela star Jose Uzcategui (32-4, 27 KOs) has made his presence felt to the rest of the super middleweight division.

Although he believed that his IBF title reign had commenced, Caleb Plant thought otherwise.

In January 2019, in Los Angeles, California, the American boxer secured a unanimous decision win over Uzcategui. After this defeat, the 31-year-old struggled for the remainder of the year.

In an attempt to close the year on a winning note, the Venezuelan boxer suffered a shocking defeat against a fringe contender, Lionell Thompson.

As he had to go back to the drawing board, Uzcategui took a break for around 18 months from professional boxing.

The absence proved to be a significant one as the 31-year-old returned to winning ways. He racked up three consecutive stoppage victories.

With his confidence sky-high, Uzcategui started coming up against every 168-pounder in the division.

“There’s a lot of potential fights,” said Uzcategui recently to ESNEWS. “I’m willing to fight anybody. I’m waiting for the call. It can be (David) Benavidez, it can be Plant, it can be anybody.”

The Venezuelan boxer was given his wish to fight Benavidez on November 13, 2021. However, Uzcategui tested positive for COVID only a few weeks before the fight.

Recently, the 25-year-old Benavidez has kept his unbeaten record alive. However, Uzcategui is not impressed by the quality of the opponents he is coming up against.

“I’ve been waiting three years for that fight. That’s the fight that I dream of. I think I’m the opponent that David needs.”