Sports Club RRI

The Romanian boxer Ronald ‘The Thrill’ Gavril has lost on points to David Benavidez in a WBC super-middle weight game held in the American city of Las Vegas. Benavidez, 20, won by split decision; two referees declared him winner, whereas only one voted for the Romanian challenger. The WBC title was up for grabs after Badou Jack, Gavril’s colleague at Mayweather Promotions, had moved on to a superior category. David Benavidez, who obtained his 19th win out of the 19 games he played in professional competitions, has thus become the youngest super-middle weight champion as well as the world’s youngest boxing champion.

Steliu Lambru, 13.09.2017, 13:50

Gavril put on a more incisive show in the match’s first round but the following couple of rounds belonged to Benavidez. The Romanian boxer managed a come back to own another couple of rounds while Benavidez proved more incisive in rounds 10 and 11. Benavidez’s domination continued in the game’s last round when the Romanian surprised him with a crisp left punch, knocking him to the mat. The match resumed after Benavidez was counted.

Ronald Gavril was born in Bacau, eastern Romania, on July 10th 1986. He is currently boxing in the super-middle weight category and was Romania’s champion in amateur competitions in 2009 and 2010. He reaped a bronze medal at the European Championships in Cagliari in 2005 and turned professional in 2011. The game against Benavidez became Gavril’s second defeat in professional boxing competitions where he has so far obtained 18 wins out of which 14 through KO. The defeat has blown Gavril’s chances of becoming the fifth Romanian boxing champion in professional circuits after Mihai Leu, Leonard Doroftei, Lucian Bute and Adrian Diaconu.