Roy Jones Jr. said Benavidez looking exhausted

Roy Jones Jr. believes Benavidez’s body type gives him advantages to move between divisions that he never had during his own career.

“The difference is, he walks around a lot heavier than I could ever dream of walking around,” Roy said. Fight Spider. “When he loses weight to get the weight off, he doesn’t lose muscle. He loses fat. I lost muscle.”

Jones said Benavidez actually physically pulled equal to the cruiserweight limit despite fighting in the heaviest division of his career.

“I saw his face at the weigh-in,” Jones said. “At 200 pounds, he looks like a drain and has sucked in 200 pounds.”

The Hall of Famer believes that’s why Benavidez may be able to move between divisions more easily than Jones did during his own career. Jones famously moved from light heavyweight to heavyweight to defeat John Ruiz in 2003 before struggling physically after dropping back down in weight.

“I’ve never touched that weight,” Jones said, comparing himself to Benavidez.

Jones also believes Benavidez could eventually move up to heavyweight if the right opportunities arise later in his career.

“He already knows what it’s like to live as a heavyweight,” Jones said.

Some fans already felt that Benavidez looked physically exhausted during his final weigh-in for his 175-pound fight against Anthony Yarde. If Roy is correct that Benavidez looked drained even at 200 pounds against Ramirez, returning to light heavyweight could become increasingly difficult physically.

This could become especially important if Benavidez returns to Bivol at light heavyweight. Fighting a technically disciplined boxer like Bivol while exhausted from a difficult weight cut would create a dangerous situation, even for a pressure fighter as naturally big as Benavidez.