CRAWFORD-BENAVIDEZ PUNCHLINE STAFF AND BOXING WORLD PREDICTIONS
April 25, 2024
Simon Ruvalcaba
Well the night is upon us, a night that didn’t have much buzz outside of the boxing world a couple of days ago, that now has reached out to mainstream public with recent altercations between Champion Terrence “Bud” Crawford and Jose Benavidez of the Arizona fighting family!
Early predictions when fight was announced seemed overwhelming for Champion and pound for pound mention Crawford. It seems as the public has gotten to know more about the undefeated Benavidez that some of the votes are swinging his direction? Based off of his confidence and demeanor leading up to the biggest fight of his career. ESPN and Top Rank have an exciting night ahead! Here is what Punchline Staff and associates predict.
Kelly Pavlik (Middleweight Champion host of ‘The Punchline with Kelly Pavlik and James Dominguez’)- Got to go with Crawford, only seen a little of Benavidez. Think it could be an interesting fight though.
James Dominguez (Multiple time amateur titlest, Army Champion and host of ‘The Punchline with Kelly Pavlike and James Dominguez’)- Crawford by decision
Simon Ruvalcaba (Punchline.live Editor) – Crawford by unanimous decision: I’m Going Crawford by decision in a good fight. Like 117-11 or 116-112 type of fight?
Amy Green (‘Punchline’ and Renowned Boxing Publicist) – Crawford by unanimous decision: After the name calling, pushing etc. leading up to this fight, i’m still going Crawford, but he’s going to make it rough on Benavidez, and we’ll see a glimpse of Crawford’s cruel streak.
Gina Davis (‘Punchline’ contributor) – Benavidez unanimous decision
Tony “The Tiger” Lopez (3 division World Champion)- Crawford
Kevin Greene (Level 4 amateur Coach and former Head Coach of Fort Hood ‘Worldbeaters’ Army boxing team)- I’m going with Bud (Crawford) unanimous decision. He’s going to get touched a little more in the early rounds trying to be macho, but he’ll figure it out around the 5th round.
Charles Leverette (Trainer Army W.C.A.P.)- Crawford in 5
Juan “Ghostwarrior” Torres (6-time Kickboxing World Champion and Hall of Famer)- Gotta go with Crawford
Javier Molins (2008 U.S. Olympian)- Crawford by decision
Joey Gilbert (Lawyer, former Professional Boxer, ‘Contender’ Season 1 contestant)- Crawford
Brandon “Flawless” Gonzales (Former Middleweight Contender)- Crawford. I believe he’s special. Benavidez very good and could upset?
Melissa ‘Huracan’ Hernandez (6-time Women’s title holder) – Crawford
Blake “The Beast” McKernan (undefeated Cruiserweight prospect)- Crawford within 6 rounds
Bobby Sanchez (‘Punchline’ friend of the program)- Crawford by knockout 7th or 8th
Charles ‘Sweetchuck’ Presnell (Former pro boxer and writer (Boxingtalk.com)- Benavidez TKO inside 8 rounds
About the Editor
Army Veteran and former Professional Boxer Simon Ruvalcaba started boxing at the age of ten and Had a 71 fight amateur career which featured a 139 lbs. 1998 8th U.S. Army Boxing Championship out of Camp Casey, Korea and a spot on the prestigious Army Boxing Team at Fort Hood, TX. After a journeyman pro career of 18 fights, which included sparring sessions with many champions and contenders including Julio Cesar Chavez and Pernell “Sweat Pea” Whitaker, Simon started writing and has contributed to many publications and websites including fighthype.com, pound4pound.com, Tahoe Daily Tribune (South Lake Tahoe, CA), Nevada Appeal (Carson City, NV). He has also been the Boxing Instructor for Ken Shamrock and The Lions Den and was MMA and Bareknuckle star Paige VanZant’s first boxing coach!
Born and Raised in South Lake Tahoe, California he now resides in Sun Valley, Nevada and spends as much time as possible with his Sons Gabriel and Oscar! Beyond boxing, Simon is an all around sports fanatic and is passionate about the teams that he roots for. Simon also works as a Sportsbook Supervisor for Caesars Sportsbook in Lake Tahoe.
