Benavidez was the Best Crawford Fought

'Doctors told him to forget boxing ever again after informing Benavidez it would be at least two years before he would walk.

He recalled ahead of the big BoxNation showdown: "I got shot above my right knee – it hit my main artery. Right when I got shot, they rushed me to the hospital.

"At first, I thought I was okay. I never paid attention in school so I didn't know there was a main artery in your leg. I thought I would be fine.

"When they did a CAT scan, they looked really worried and they rushed me to the operating room to operate on me. I was losing so much blood I almost died.

"They put a metal plate in my knee and it looks like I have a couple of screws in it – it looks like I went to Home Depot. It also hit the pinky finger on my right hand, but there was no damage there."

After surgery saved his life, he was then told the grim news about his future, but he defied and baffled doctors.

"The doctor told me I was never going to box again. He told me it would take two years before I could walk again," he recalled. "But it doesn't matter what people tell me. As long as I know what I can do and what I'm capable of, anything is possible.

"I fought the year after that. I'm not the only person that survived or has a story like this – there's a lot of people. I'm not going to lie to you – it hurts me, but I try not to think about it. When I'm in the ring, I just focus on what I have to do.

"There's nothing I can do about it, it's always going to hurt me. It's either I keep on doing what I love doing, or just be a big baby and cry because it hurts me.

"I'm not that type of person, I'm not a quitter. I just have to suck it up."

'When he first saw the doctor, he was told he wouldn’t be able to walk for more than a year, perhaps for two years. Benavidez mentioned that he was a boxer and the doctor gave him the news bluntly: His boxing career was over.

“He said, ‘Forget about boxing,’ ” Benavidez said. “Just like that: ‘Forget about it. It’s not in the picture. You’re not going to box any more.'

'How can he fight? Ariza thought to himself. He's barely walking. The femur had been shattered. Muscle and scar tissue had braided together, like a root. Now, to ensure that the quadriceps fired properly, they had to be separated by needling, cupping and deep tissue work.

The trainer had worked with some brave champions: Diego Corrales, Erik Morales, Marcos Maidana and Manny Pacquiao. But he had never seen an athlete endure that sustained level of pain.

"It's like pulling the skin from your body," Ariza said. "He'd just bite down, not to cry, not to show weakness. The doctor would ask if he wanted to take a break. He'd say no. He'd get this blank stare, like he was going somewhere far away."

How can he fight? Ariza thought to himself.

As for the Crawford fight, Ariza still doesn't think Junior has had enough time to fully rehab the knee. But the Benavidezes have been talking Crawford for a while, even before the shooting.'

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A reporter asked David Benavidez when Jose was due out again early this year or late last year and David replied that his leg has given out on him again and they had to cancel a scheduled fight.