Oleksandr Gvozdyk has dealt with the power of both Artur Beterbiev and David Benavidez.
Gvozdyk was WBC light heavyweight champion after winning the belt in December 2018, but then came up against Beterbiev 10 months later.
It was a unification showdown, with Beterbiev’s IBF belt also on the line, and the Russian came out on top by 10th round stoppage to hand Gvozdyk his first professional defeat.
Gvozdyk rebuilt with three straight wins, before then coming up against Benavidez this past June, with the interim WBC belt up for grabs.
Benavidez was moving up from super-middleweight for the bout, but the difference in weight didn’t prove to be a problem, as he controlled the majority of the action on his way to a comfortable unanimous decision win.
Having gone up against both Beterbiev and Benavidez, Gvozdyk has named the hardest puncher of his career whilst speaking with La Casaca Boxing Club, but neither man claim that prize, with the Ukrainian instead opting for Adonis Stevenson.
“When somebody asks me who was the hardest puncher you ever fought, I say Stevenson, not Beterbiev.
I’m not saying that Beterbiev is weaker, and altogether he is way stronger, but regarding punching power, he doesn’t have the explosiveness.
He has heavy hands and likes pushing you and then when he throws two or three punches, you’re taking a big toll from those punches, but he misses explosiveness. Stevenson has it.”
Gvozdyk won by 11th round knockout when facing Stevenson at the Centre Videotron in Quebec City, having trailed on two of the three scorecards.
As for Beterbiev and Benavidez, a future fight could potentially take place between the two men, and top trainer Robert Garcia has given a bold prediction for the bout.
