Cooper Secures Funding for New VA Facility in Nashville in Build Back Better Package

WASHINGTON – Today, Rep. Jim Cooper (TN-05) announced he secured funding for a new VA outpatient clinic in Nashville. President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget proposed a new state-of-the-art outpatient clinic to replace and expand care and services currently offered at the VA clinic located at Charlotte Avenue. Congressional funding and approval is needed for the clinic, which Cooper successfully included in the Build Back Better legislation.

Previously, antiquated GSA guidelines excluded locating the clinic anywhere north of I-40, excluding the North Nashville neighborhoods. For the past several months, Cooper worked with VA Secretary McDonough, in addition to White House, Office of Management and Budget, and General Services Administration staff, to expand the delineated area for the new VA clinic up to the Cumberland River. This ensures the North Nashville community—home to prominent universities such as Fisk, Tennessee State, and Meharry Medical—are able to compete for this major medical development project.

The package also includes funding for health coverage to people in states, like Tennessee, that refuse to cover their own. Cooper has been a champion of Medicaid expansion since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, and closing the Medicaid coverage gap in the Build Back Better package was one of his top priorities.

“I am thrilled years-long efforts like getting more Tennesseans health insurance and bringing more equitable business opportunities to North Nashville were in this bill,” Rep. Jim Cooper said. “This is one of the most transformative pieces of legislation that will bring more opportunities to every American and help grow our economy.”

Demolition to Begin at North Nashville Transit Center

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Nashville, TENN – On November 29, demolition will begin for the North Nashville Transit Center. It should have little to no impact on businesses, residents, motorists, and transit customers.

Work will be done between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and the only right-of-way implications will be trucks hauling debris from the site. No lane closures are anticipated. Demolition is expected to take approximately two months near 26th Avenue and Clarksville Pike.

WeGo Public Transit continues its commitment to better connecting people to their lives and communities by elevating the overall quality of customers and business patrons.

For updates regarding the center, please refer to the project webpage at WeGoTransit.com.

 

Local Chapter of Indian Physicians Association Presents Indian Fall Gala

Nashville, TN – The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) presents the Fall Fundraising Gala in support of Free for Life International (FFLI), which stands against human trafficking and slavery in India. The event will take place at Embassy Suites Hotel in Cool Springs on Sat. Nov. 20 at 7 pm.

Tickets for the gala are $150 per person or $1,250 for a table of ten. Tennessee Rep. Jim Cooper will be the guest speaker for the evening. Guests will be served authentic Indian cuisine and entertained by Bollywood music and dance.

“As physicians, it is important to identify the victims of human trafficking and get them appropriate help,” said Dr.Sunil Kaza, event chairman.  “We are human only when we choose to be humane.”

Vaccinations and mask usage are encouraged. All funds will be contributed to FFLI.

“Together as a community we have the power to prevent and fight human trafficking and also end slavery,” said Anuradha P. Mann, APPI Tennessee president. “Let’s do it.”

Visit www.aapiusa.org or click here for more information.

Elections In Honduras Are A Test For Democracy In A Hard-Hit Nation

By Peter Schurmann and Manuel Ortiz

Hondurans will cast their vote for the Central American nation’s next president on Nov. 28. The election comes amid violence and socioeconomic conditions that rank as among the lowest in the Western Hemisphere, alongside Haiti.

For many, Honduras warrants the status of a failed state. Yet, there are those here who believe the coming elections offer the best — and perhaps last — chance for change.

“These elections are an opportunity to recover the democratic process and to confront the multiple crises impacting the country,” said Gustavo Irias, executive director of the Center for Democracy Studies (CESPAD), a nonprofit that advocates on behalf of Honduras’ marginalized communities. “This is a chance for Honduras to recover its sense as a nation.”

That sense of nationhood was shattered in 2009, when the Honduran military ousted former president Manuel Zelaya. Since then, Honduras has remained under the control of the National Party, currently led by President Juan Orlando Hernández, now finishing his second term under a cloud of suspicion, given his potential links to drug traffickers.

The candidates seeking to replace him include National Party favorite and current Tegucigalpa Mayor Nasry Asfura, or “Papi” as he is known, and the Libre Party’s Xiomara Castro, wife of ousted former president Zelaya. She has promised to curb the excesses of the free-market policies embraced by her opponent and is forging closer ties to China.

On Twitter, President Hernández said when his administration began, there was no social justice, and those most in need were not helped. He claims he created something comprehensive and sustainable and that Honduras is no longer neglected.

Yet, violence, corruption and poverty are endemic here.  As of 2019, 15 percent of Hondurans live on less than $2 per day, conditions likely worsened by COVID-19 and the impact of hurricanes Eta and Iota last year. Projections are more than half the country fell below the poverty line in 2020, according to the World Bank.

Such conditions are fueling an exodus of migrants from the country, with data from this year showing 168,546 separate reports of Hondurans detained by immigration officials in the United States and Mexico, according to a June report from the Migration Policy Institute. The report noted one-in-five Hondurans express a desire to leave the country, with reasons ranging from food insecurity to fear of assault and unemployment.

For some in the capital, the coming elections offer little hope for improvement.

“Nothing is going to change,” said Victor Manuel Mayorga, a public employee who says he has not been able to retire because the government stole the state’s pension funds. At 79, Mayorga is part of a tiny minority of senior citizens in a country where the median age is just 24. Many young people have died in the violence of the last four decades.

Sitting in the city’s central plaza talking soccer with friends, he notes the lack of education and health care, and accuses officials of all political stripes of abandoning the country. “I believe in democracy, but in Honduras it is broken. It’s been broken since the coup.”

The village of Bordo del Río flooded after the overflow of the Lancetilla river on Nov. 3, 2020 in Tela, Honduras. Hurricane Eta, like many other storms, left its mark. (Photo by Yoseph Amaya/Getty Images)

However, not everyone despairs.

César Nahún Aquino, 44, is an auto mechanic from the town of Yoritos, about 125 miles north of Tegucigalpa. The town made headlines two years ago when residents successfully banded together to eject a mining company that had attempted to set up operations in the region.

A member of the Tolupán indigenous community, he ran a transportation company in San Pedro Sula before the COVID-19 pandemic, which he says eviscerated his business. Now he is back in his hometown, a largely agricultural region known for coffee, avocados and cattle ranching.

“We’re asking for the basics, to get rid of corrupt elections, transparency and reactivate the local economy, so it benefits people in the community,” said Aquino, a supporter of local mayoral candidate Freddy Murio.

Murio is a formerly undocumented migrant who spent 12 years working construction in New York before returning to his hometown two years ago.

“We have to start with our municipality before we can begin to change the country,” Aquino said.

Back in the capital, officials acknowledge no single election will solve the challenges confronting Honduras. They say it is important to protect the integrity of the vote and secure the democratic process. Both are key to repairing the ongoing damage caused by the coup in 2009.

“The only opportunity for the country to build a democratic foundation is through the coming elections,” said Rixi Moncada, a lawyer and part of a three-person rotating chair with the newly created National Electoral Council, or CNE as it’s known by its Spanish acronym.

The CNE, responsible for delivering the final vote tally once the polls close, was created following widespread irregularities and violence that marked elections in 2017. Along with the National Registry of Persons and the Clean Politics Unit — tasked with monitoring campaign finance in a nation where drug money and politics are inextricably intertwined — these three institutions are responsible for ensuring election integrity.

Moncada, a former member of the Zelaya administration, admits it is no easy task.

“No one is prepared for the criminality,” she says, referring to the ongoing political violence she sees as an extension of the 2009 coup, including the recent murder of Nery Reyes, mayoral candidate and member of the opposition Libre Party, who was killed in October. No one has been arrested for the murder.

“We are prepared for the process,” she said.

The story Honduras Elections A Test for Democracy In a Failed State is published in collaboration with Ethnic Media Services

Edited by Melanie Slone and Fern Siegel



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Comedy Special ‘Aida Rodriguez: Fighting Words’ Premiered On HBO Max

By Cesar Arredondo

After a long career in Los Angeles, rising comedian Aida Rodriguez is getting her first hour-long standup comedy special. “Aida Rodríguez: Fighting Words” premiered on Nov. 4, on HBO Max.

In her show, the Afro-Latina jokester of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent is tackling current issues that dominate the headlines and talking about getting back into dating, her upbringing and family life, and embracing her Caribbean heritage.

Her trademark comedy is turning her life’s pain into humorous material. Having been the subject of two kidnappings by family members during childhood, she learned that her personal tragedy is not off-limits.

Rodriguez’s HBO Max show concludes with a documentary of the Boston-born comedienne traveling to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic to celebrate the two nations’ vibrant cultures. The TV special also gets serious with family matters and acknowledges new talent. Cameras capture her reunion with her estranged father and the jokester’s effort to support up-and-coming comedians.

 

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Misogyny, racism, and other ills of contemporary society are targets of the comedienne, who also happens to be a regular commentator on the political YouTube show “The Young Turks.”

Kristian Mercado and Nadia Hallgren, two filmmakers who hail from distinctively different genres, directed “Aida Rodriguez: Fighting Words.” Mercado has helmed a handful of comedy TV specials like HBO Max’s “Phoebe Robinson: Sorry, Harriet Tubman,” while Hallgren directed “Becoming,” the Netflix documentary about former First Lady Michelle Obama. Rodriguez is the executive producer of her special, along with Michelle Caputo and Shannon Hartman for Art & Industry.

“Fighting Words” arrives two years after Rodriguez was featured on six episodes of“Tiffany Haddish Presents: They Ready.” Led by Primetime Emmy Award-winner Haddish, the Netflix series allowed Rodriguez to share the stage with the seasoned African-American comedic star and about a dozen up-and-coming standup talents.

Making a living out of making people laugh wasn’t in Rodriguez’s career plans. She pursued a degree in English and law at Florida State University but dropped out after becoming pregnant. She married a Florida State Seminoles player but divorced him before moving to Los Angeles in the early 2000s. Rodriguez then turned to filmmaking, acting in minor roles and standup comedy.

Her first film credit is as second unit director in the 2006 indie horror flick “VooDoo Curse: The Giddeh.” The following year, she got a small role in the “Black Woman’s Guide to Finding a Good Man” video, the first of her many comedy projects. At the same time, she started to delve into penning and producing humor and drama and traveling the comedy club circuit.

After several years of wearing multiple creative hats, Rodriguez joined the eighth season of NBC’s “Last Comic Standing,” placing seventh among ten finalists. Later, she was cast in Fusion’s TV movie “All Def Digital’s Roast of America,” which she co-wrote.

Now, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rodriguez gets ready to do what she may do best, turning her wounds into jokes.

“[I] took this trip with some amazing people during a very complicated time. [I’m] looking forward to sharing it with you,” posted Rodriguez on social media, along with a poster promoting her Max Original show.

Aida Rodriguez’s Comedy Special ‘Aida Rodriguez: Fighting Words’ on HBO Max is published in association with LatinHeat Entertainment.

Edited by Gabriela Alejandra Olmos and Melanie Slone



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One Peace At A Time: Rare Photos Emerge Of Johnny Cash’s Holy Land Visit

By Naama Barak

Rare photos recently revealed by the National Library of Israel show country musician Johnny Cash during his visit to Israel in 1971, giving a black-and-white sneak peek at the glamorous reception he received.

Cash was in Israel with his wife, June Carter Cash, to film their movie “Gospel Road: A Story of Jesus.” The film was narrated by Cash and includes scenes of him singing from the top of Mount Arbel. Other Israeli landmarks in the film include the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River, but despite their prominence, the film did not end up becoming a box-office hit.

Cash’s 1971 visit to Israel was the third one of five for the star. A devout Christian, he had previously visited the country in 1966 on a private religious pilgrimage, and then again with his wife in 1968. That trip inspired a Christian-themed concept album called “The Holy Land.”

Johnny Cash receives a gift from an unidentified person at a reception in Jerusalem. (IPPA staff from the Dan Hadani Archive, Pritzker Family National Photography Collection at the National Library of Israel, Jerusalem)

On the 1971 trip, the Cashes were treated to a lavish reception in Jerusalem, where the newly discovered photos were taken, revealing a bygone-era replete with fancy dinnerware, waiters in black tie, and floral wallpaper.

The photos were discovered by accident when the National Library’s social media manager sifted through images from the library’s Dan Hadani Archive in search of pictures of Israeli pop star Tzvika Pik.

Pik, it turns out, attended the reception held in Cash’s honor, and the episode was saved from obscurity.

American music star Johnny Cash at a reception in his honor in Jerusalem, 1971. (IPPA staff from the Dan Hadani Archive, Pritzker Family National Photography Collection at the National Library of Israel, Jerusalem)

Cash, widely regarded as one of the most respected musical artists, was born into a family of Arkansas sharecroppers in the middle of the Great Depression, according to his official website.

“That hardscrabble life instilled in him a reverence for family, the earth, God and truth that informed his incredible life and vision over a half-century career. After a stint in the United States Air Force, where he distinguished himself as a radio intercept operator, and less-successful efforts as an automobile factory worker and door-to-door home goods salesman, Johnny broke onto the music scene in 1955 on Memphis’ fabled Sun Records. It was here, at the ‘birthplace of rock and roll,’ where the world was introduced to his singular voice and compelling songwriting, through such eternal classics as ‘I Walk the Line, ’Big River’ and ‘Folsom Prison Blues.’”

He is also well known for performing concerts in prisons, including his famous first one at San Quentin Prison in California in 1958.

Cash died in 2003 at age 71.

Produced in association with Israel21C.



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Interfaith Clergy Unite In Call To Vaccinate

By Naama Barak

Leaders of religious communities in Israel gathered at the president’s residence in Jerusalem recently to issue an interfaith call for people to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

President Isaac Herzog was joined by Israel’s chief rabbis, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, the Latin Patriarch, the president of the Muslim Shari’a Court of Appeals, the Druze community leader and the secretary-general of the Baháʼí movement in Israel, as well as the health minister and the government’s COVID coordinator.

“The sanctity of life is a supreme value for religions and the saving of the life of any human being — all created in the image of God — is the greatest religious obligation of all,” the religious leaders declared.

President Isaac Herzog, left, greets Israel’s religious leaders during an interfaith call for COVID vaccination, at his residence in Jerusalem. (Koby Gideon/GPO)

“Together with prayers to the Almighty, we call on everyone to be vaccinated as soon as possible. The licensed vaccines that have been approved by the most important professional regulatory bodies in the world are highly effective and safe, proven by the notable number of over 3 billion vaccinated people worldwide, and have led to a drastic reduction of COVID-19 infections.”

They concluded by calling on everyone “to continue abiding by all the preventive measures demanded by science and medicine, in each place according to the situation.”

“Interfaith cooperation is hugely powerful,” Herzog said “I think that the fact that this fantastic call is coming out of the Holy Land truly sets an example and serves as a model.”

This week, Israel is poised to roll out a vaccination campaign for children ages 5 to 11.

A recent study, based on data from Israel, showed that a third (booster) dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19 is 93 percent effective in protecting individuals against severe COVID-19-related outcomes, compared with two doses received at least five months earlier.

The study was published in The Lancet on Oct. 29.

“To our knowledge, the present study is the first to estimate the effectiveness of a third dose of an mRNA COVID-19 against severe outcomes with adjustment for various possible confounders, and within subgroups,” state the study authors from Clalit, Bar-Ilan University and Harvard University.

These subgroups include males, females, Arabs, Jews, ultra-Orthodox Jews and people with various preexisting conditions and body-mass indexes. Risks were found to be higher in males and in people 70 and older.

The authors say that despite good results of nationwide vaccination campaigns, many countries — including Israel — experienced a resurgence of COVID-19, dominated by the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2. This is because the protective effect of Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine wanes over time and especially after six months.

With 63.55 percent of the population fully vaccinated, Israel has had an overall total of 1,336,882 coronavirus cases and 8,140 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. The recovery rate overall is reported as 99 percent.

Produced in association with Israel21C.



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World’s First Rapid Saliva-Based Pregnancy Test Is Born

By Abigail Klein Leichman

Peeing on a stick will soon be as obsolete as the “rabbit test” thanks to SaliStick, a revolutionary saliva-based rapid pregnancy test kit.

The product has successfully completed clinical trials and thousands of analytical trials in Israel and is expected to receive the European Union’s CE Mark soon. Approval by the FDA could come next year.

SaliStick was developed by Jerusalem-based Salignostics based on its proprietary saliva-based hormone detection technology used in the company’s SaliCov rapid antigen saliva test kit to detect COVID-19, used widely in Europe and Africa.

SaliStick detects the pregnancy hormone β-hCG as early as the first day of a missed period.

“Saliva is the key to rapid diagnostics for a variety of medical reasons. Quintessentially it is the only noninvasive, easy, and hygienic means to detect hormones, viruses and even diseases,” said Guy Krief, Salignostics’ co-founder, deputy CEO and director of business development.

“We are delivering a product that completely removes the need for blood and urine samples when testing for pregnancy,” he said. “With SaliStick, we hope to empower women by making the discovery of pregnancy more dignified and inclusive.”

The company will display the new product at the Medica 2021 exhibition in Düsseldorf, Germany, this week.

Salignostics was founded in 2016 by Krief and four other PhDs: professor Aaron Palmon, former dean of Hebrew University’s dental school; Omer Deutsch; Yoav Neumann; and Raluca Cohen.

“Our vision is to transform the next generation of in-vitro diagnostics by developing easy, clean, safe, low-cost, accessible and reliable saliva-based products,” the company’s website says.

“Salistick is the first rapid saliva-based pregnancy test for a new and improved user-experience, accompanied by high accuracy for early pregnancy detection.”

Currently, there are two main types of pregnancy tests — urine tests and blood tests.

“Often, you’ll take a urine test at home with a home pregnancy test kit,” the Cleveland Clinic website states. “This type of test can be purchased over-the-counter (you don’t need a prescription from your healthcare provider) and is available in a variety of price ranges. Blood tests to check for pregnancy are done in your healthcare provider’s office. No matter what the reason [for a pregnancy test], if you ever have any questions about your test results, the best thing to do is reach out to your healthcare provider.

“A pregnancy can also be confirmed through an ultrasound. Later in a pregnancy, an ultrasound is actually used to not only look at your baby, but make sure the timeline of development matches the dates of your conception and missed period.

“If you think you could be pregnant, it’s a good idea to take a test and make sure,” the Cleveland Clinic says.

Produced in association with Israel21C.



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David Benavidez TKOs Kyrone Davis, Craves All-Mexican Clash With Canelo Alvarez Or Jermall Charlo

By Lem Satterfield

David Benavidez was once the youngest 168-pound world champion in history, but the unbeaten, 6-foot-2 switch-hitting 24-year-old wants to be an undisputed one.

The two-time champion did his part on Saturday night to remain on track for an all-Mexican title bout against undisputed 168-pound king Canelo Alvarez, scoring a vicious, double-fisted, beat-down for his fifth straight knockout against Kyrone Davis, who was stopped for the first time in his career.

Another option for the power-punching Benavidez is WBC 160-pound champion Jermall Charlo (32–0, 22 KOs), who is considering a rise into the 168-pound division primarily to face Alvarez.

Benavidez (25–0, 22 KOs) called out both fighters after hammering Davis (16–3–1, 6 KOs), whose trainer threw in the towel 48 seconds into the seventh round before “El Bandera Roja’s” (The Red Flag’s) sold-out hometown crowd at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, in a Premier Boxing Champions event on Showtime.

Benavidez’s seventh-round TKO came a week after Alvarez (57–1–2, 39 KOs) scored a two-knockdown, 11th-round KO of previously unbeaten Caleb Plant (21–1, 12 KOs) in a 168-pound unification bout, adding “Sweethands’” IBF crown to his WBA/WBC/WBO versions to become the first fully unified super middleweight champion and the first fighter of Mexican descent to accomplish the feat.

“Everybody wants to see me against Canelo, right?” Benavidez said of Alvarez, who plans to return against an opponent to be determined in May 2022 during the Cinco de Mayo Mexican holiday weekend. “Or does the big [Jermall] Charlo wanna get it, too? [Charlo] don’t wanna get into the ring with me because he’s a big p***y. That’s why. I’ll go through anybody or whoever they want me to go though.”

Benavidez’s promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz, told Zenger that he plans to travel to Mexico City for the WBC’s Nov. 14–19 annual convention, where he will try to appeal to WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman to make an Alvarez-Benavidez fight.

“Tomorrow at 9:45 a.m. I’m leaving for Mexico to go to the convention of the WBC to request that it’s time for Benavidez to have a shot at [the WBC title held by Alvarez,]” said Lewkowics by telephone exclusively to Zenger.

“I have a proposal, and I’m pretty sure that I will succeed in that proposal. Like always, I’ll have to have a talk [with Mauricio Sulaiman,] but you have to come with a proposal. I’m pretty sure that Canelo will take it. I have no doubt. I will try to make a proposal that can not be denied. After that, I will make a statement, worldwide.”

Having out-landed Davis by more than 3-to-1 in total punches (181–54) and power shots (137–39), and nearly 3-to-1 in jabs (44–15), Benavidez was asked by Showtime’s Jim Gray how he thought Alvarez would assess his performance.

Two-time 168-pound champion David Benavidez (left) scored his fifth straight knockout against Kryone Davis (right), out-landing him by more than 3-to-1 in total punches and power shots and nearly in jabs (44-to-15) during Saturday’s seventh-round TKO victory. (Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing Champions)

“I don’t really care what his assessment is. He just needs to give me the opportunity,” said Benavidez, who ripped “Shut It Down” Davis evenly to the head and body with jabs, hooks, upper cuts and 50 body shots. “That was a great performance on my end and a lot of courage by Kyrone. I respect him and his team a lot. Tough dude, and he came out here to give the fans a good fight.”

A late replacement for Jose Uzcategui (31–4, 26 KOs) after the former champion was forced to withdraw due to a failed pre-fight drug test, Davis has spent time in the separate training camps of past and current champions Terence Crawford, Gennadiy Golovkin, Adrien Broner, Julian Williams and southpaws Erislandy Lara and Demetrius Andrade as well as title challengers Erickson Lubin and Jesse Hart.

As Benavidez violently hammered the 5-foot-10 Davis both in the center of the ring and on the ropes, trainer Stephen “Breadman” Edwards began to see that his fighter was absorbing too much punishment.

Edwards told Davis after the fifth round, “I know you were playing possum, but if you don’t give me more, I’m going to stop the fight.” After the sixth, Edwards said, “Kryone, if you don’t hurt him in this next round, I’m going to stop the fight because I don’t want you to get hurt.”

But the pounding continued into the seventh as Davis was out-landed, 27-to-10, before Edwards threw in the towel at the 2:12 mark of the round, being acknowledged by referee Wes Melton.

“From day one, [Edwards] has been my guy. I’m upset, but not at him. If he wanted to stop the fight to protect me, I understand. This is like my second father as much as my father,” said Davis, 27, of Monmouth, N.J. “I feel okay. I’m a little disappointed. I don’t like losing. I wish I could have pulled out the victory. It was a hard fight. I came in on two weeks notice. I said f*** it. Let’s work.”

Davis was 3–0–1 (1 KO) in his previous four bouts, his past two fights being a draw with former champion Anthony Dirrell in February and a unanimous decision over Martez McGregor in September.

“They called me and told me, ‘let’s fight one of the top dudes in the division,’” Davis said. “I said, ‘how in the hell am I going to pass that off. I came in here and fought my ass off and did the best that I could.”

Two-time 168-pound champion David Benavidez (left) hammered Kryone Davis (right) with body shots, hooks and uppercuts on the way to Saturday’s seventh-round TKO and his fifth straight knockout. Davis’s trainer threw in the towel 48 seconds into the final round. (Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing Champions)

Once the youngest 168-pound world champion in history, Benavidez had been stripped of his WBC crown in October 2018, declared “Champion in recess,” and suspended for six months following a positive drug test for Benzoylecgonine (the main metabolite of cocaine).

The WBC made the decision at its convention, also ordering Dirrell into a vacant title fight against Avni Yildirim, whom he defeated by technical decision in February 2019.

Benavidez ended his ring absence with a second-round knockout of J’Leon Love in March 2019 before regaining the WBC crown that September with a ninth-round knockout of Dirrell, who was stopped for the first time in his career.

An overweight Benavidez lost that title on the scales in advance of a 10th-round knockout of Roamer Alexis Angulo (August 2020) before scoring an 11th-round TKO over Ronald Ellis in his last fight in March.

At 20, Benavidez earned the WBC’s 168-pound title by split decision over Ronald Gavril in September 2017, overcoming an injured middle left knuckle and a final-round knockdown to become the youngest world champion in division history and the sport’s youngest titleholder at the time.

Darrin Van Horn had been the youngest boxer to win the 168-pound title when he accomplished the feat in 1991.

Benavidez ended Gavril’s seven-fight winning streak (five by KO) and won his return bout with Gavril in February 2018 by near shutout unanimous decision.

The split-decision victory over Gavril ended Benavidez’s knockout streak at 10 and at 17 in his previous 18 victories, including 13 inside of two rounds. The matches with Gavril followed Benavidez’s three-knockdown eighth-round TKO of former title challenger Rogelio Medina in May 2017.

“The thing about me is that I have so much conditioning that I’m gonna keep going until they eventually stop it. What usually happens is that they tend to give up. I may not have that one-punch knockout power, but I’m gonna be ready to get you every single round,” said Benavidez, who turns 25 on Dec. 17.

“I’m looking to improve in every area. I’m 24 years old, and next month is my birthday. I’m gonna continue working because I can get better. I’m going to keep working until I become the best.”

The undercard featured Benavidez’s 29-year-old brother Jose Jr. (27–1–1, 18 KOs) ending a 37-month ring absence with a disputed draw against Francisco Emanuel Torres (17–3–1, 5 KOs) in his 154-pound debut which many ringsiders and fans thought Torres deserved to win.

“I beat him every round. He was just running. I don’t know how he got a draw. We can run it back. He kept running the whole fight,” said Jose Jr., who lost his previous fight in August 2018 by 12th-round TKO to three-division and WBO 147-pound champion Terence Crawford (37–0, 28 KOs).

“He wasn’t really landing anything on me. What can I do? I beat him. He kept running. He wasn’t hitting me with anything hard. I can’t do anything. It’s the judges’ decision. I felt good. He just kept holding. He kept hitting me after they said stop. I’ll go back and train. Next time I’ll stop him if he doesn’t run.”

Torres had won nine straight fights, two by knockout.

“You can hear it from the crowd. They think I won the fight,” said Torres, disputing scores of 96–94 for Jose Jr. and 95–95 twice. “As a visitor I came here to his backyard and they still call it a draw. Imagine if this would have been in Buenos Aires or somewhere else. I definitely want the rematch.”

Benavidez Jr. was shot in his right leg just above the knee by a man on August 23 while he was walking his dog near his home in Phoenix. The injury appeared to be life-threatening due to the volume of blood loss.

Benavidez returned for consecutive knockout victories in 2018, ending a 19-month absence in February with an eighth-round TKO of Matthew Strode, followed by an impressive 84-second knockout in June of Frank Rojas before facing Crawford. Rojas entered at 22–0 (21 KOs).

“When Jose Jr. fought Terence Crawford, his leg was 60-to-70 percent,” said Jose. Sr., who trains both of his sons. “I was nervous in the Crawford fight because I didn’t know how the leg would react. He showed he has heart and did better than I thought.”

Edited by Kristen Butler



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Gonzalez Survives 3 Fights In 1 Night To Win Combate Global 8-Man Tournament

By George A. Willis

Enrique “Baby Bull” Gonzalez didn’t have the best record heading into Combate Global’s USA vs. Mexico eight-man MMA tournament Friday night in Miami. But he emerged with the biggest heart.

Gonzalez of Laredo, Texas, won three fights in one night, including a grueling three-round decision in the finale over previously unbeaten Cristian “Puas” Perez of Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico.

“It was crazy,” Gonzalez told Zenger after the bout. “It took me back to when I was a little kid at the karate tournaments, but this was a lot different. The competitors are much tougher. I loved it.”

The three wins improved Gonzalez’ record to 12–4. He opened with a one-round decision over Jim “The Beast” Alers of Pembroke Pines, Fla., (14–5) and advanced to face Samuel “Alley Cat” Alvarez (6–5) of Manteca, Calif., where Gonzalez captured another one-round decision.

That earned him the chance to represent the U.S. in the finale against the unbeaten Perez, who looked impressive with a TKO of Alfrego “Tarzan” Ruelas (2–2) of Mexico City in the first round and a tough one-round decision over Patrick “La Sanguijuela” Lehane of Ireland (4–1), who fought for the Mexican team.

Enrique “Baby Bull” Gonzalez (left) and Cristian “Puas” Perez exchange blows during their championship fight in the USA v. Mexico 8-man tournament by Combate Global Friday night in Miami. (Scott Hirano/Combate Global)

The finale was a back-and-forth match with Gonzalez dominating with his ground game early in the first round before being dropped by a hard left hand from Perez in the final minute of the five-minute round. Seconds later, Perez dropped Gonzalez again with a spinning elbow to the jaw. Gonzalez weathered the assault, but lost the round.

“He clipped me a couple of times, but I overcame it,” Gonzalez said. “I knew what I was up against and what I was fighting for. I really wanted the wins on my record.”

Gonzalez followed a similar pattern in the second and third rounds, taking Perez to the ground where he controlled him and applied enough pressure and punishment to capture both rounds on the judges’ scorecards and win the tournament title.

“It’s a tough format because you can’t pace yourself the first two fights,” said Gonzalez’s trainer Mike Valle, owner of Valle Flow Striking Academy outside of Chicago. “You have to go all out. It comes down to skills and stuff like that, but it also comes down to a lot of heart. That mental stage of going out and getting back at it again. It’s very difficult, especially when you have just one round. It’s very little time to go at it.”

Valle said Gonzalez’s ability to recover from the heavy blows he endured in the championship fight was a testament to his conditioning and training.

Cristian “Puas” Perez of Mexico (right) delivers a spinning elbow that momentarily drops Enrique “Baby Bull” Gonzalez in the first round of their championship fight for the USA v. Mexico 8-man tournament. (Scott Hirano/Combate Global)

“He’s a tough kid,” Valle said. “The only way you recover from a situation like that is from the amount of work they put in. We were able to show a little more experience, and we were able to capitalize on the wrestling part of it because that’s what we do a lot of in camp.”

Gonzalez said the key to surviving the tournament was staying calm throughout the night during and between fights.

“I just tried keeping calm even when I was in the ring,” he said. “Each time I went up there after each round, I tried to keep my cool. I didn’t want to get too intense and have my heart rate up and have my adrenaline come crashing down me, so I tried to stay calm the whole time.”

Winning the title should raise Gonzalez’s profile. He moved to Chicago in 2015 to train with Valle after graduating from high school in Laredo and is looking to make a career of MMA. “This puts me in a great spot,” he said. “I know a lot of eyes were watching this. I know it will be good for me.”

He isn’t the only fighter who should benefit from the exposure. The bouts were televised by Paramount Plus and Univision. Combate Global is an MMA promotion that targets a Hispanic audience by featuring young, hungry, and personable fighters. Gonzalez, Perez and Lehane proved they fit that mold.

“I think the last three fights were as good of fights as we ever put on,” Campbell McLaren, the CEO of Combate Global, told Zenger. “I’m terribly impressed with Baby Bull, Puas and Lehane. They went in there with a personality and they don’t back down. For my promotion and the sport and their individual careers those are three stars right there.”

The real star may have been the tournament. McLaren held this event on the same date that UFC 1 launched 28 years ago. McLaren was a co-founder of the UFC and the initial event was an eight-man tournament.

“Seeing guys go through multiple fights in one night is an exhibition of human courage and tenacity,” McLaren said. “The physical side is tough, but the mental aspect is just as difficult. Preparing for one opponent is very different from preparing for three.”

Edited by Kristen Butler



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