Unbeaten two-time world champion David “El Bandera Roja” Benavídez will square off against former champion Jose Uzcategui in a WBC Super Middleweight title eliminator as Benavídez returns to his hometown of Phoenix for the first time in six years in the SHOWTIME main event on Saturday, August 28 in a Premier Boxing Champions event from Footprint Center – home of the Phoenix Suns and Mercury.

The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast begins at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT and will feature the much-awaited return of longtime contender Jose Benavídez, the older brother of David Benavídez, facing Argentina’s Francisco Emanuel Torres in the 10-round super welterweight co-main event. Kicking off the telecast is undefeated contender Carlos Castro taking on former title challenger Oscar Escandon in a 10-round super bantamweight bout. The Benavídez brothers and Castro hail from Phoenix and have their sights set on impressing their hometown fans.

Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by Sampson Boxing and TGB Promotions, are on sale now and are available for purchase through Ticketmaster.com.

Still just 24-years-old, Benavídez (24-0, 21 KOs) enters this fight having knocked out his last four opponents, including a September 2019 knockout of two-time super middleweight champion Anthony Dirrell. Most recently, he earned stoppage victories over Roamer Alexis Angulo in August 2020 and Ronald Ellis in March of this year. Benavídez is trained by his father José Sr., alongside his brother and former title challenger, José Jr. In 2017, he became the youngest super middleweight champion in boxing history by defeating Ronald Gavril on SHOWTIME at just 20 years old. Representing his native Phoenix, Ariz., Benavídez went from a 15-year-old prodigy sparring with Gennady Golovkin and Peter Quillin, to world title contender with a 10-fight knockout streak from 2015 through 2017, including a highlight-reel knockout of Rogelio Medina with a seven-punch combination that earned him his first title opportunity.

Born in Venezuela and fighting out of Tijuana, Mexico, Uzcategui (31-4, 26 KOs) captured a 168-pound world title in March of 2018 by stopping veteran contender Andre Dirrell after eight rounds. The 30-year-old put himself in position to fight for a title with four-straight stoppage victories from 2015 through 2016, including a win over then-unbeaten Julius Jackson. Since losing the title to unbeaten champion Caleb Plant in January 2019, Uzcategui has rebounded to win three of his last four fights, including knockout wins in 2021 over Jaime Hernandez Lopez and Josue Obando.

The 28-year-old Benavídez (27-1, 18 KOs) is the older brother of main event headliner David and returns to fight in his hometown of Phoenix for the first time in six years. A long-established contender, Benavídez will return to action for the first time since dropping a 147-pound title showdown to Terence Crawford in October 2018. Benavídez had previously earned wins over contenders such as Mauricio Herrera, Francisco Santana and Frank Rojas on his way to that world title opportunity.

A native of boxing-rich Buenos Aires, Argentina, Torres (17-3, 5 KOs) enters this fight the winner of his last nine contests dating back to 2018. The 31-year-old will fight in the U.S. for the third time on August 28, having scored stateside victories over Cleotis Pendarvis in August 2020 and Louis Hernandez in February of this year. Torres most recently won a unanimous decision over Alexi Rivera in June as he prepares for his toughest fight to date against Benavídez.

Castro (26-0, 11 KOs) has climbed the rankings since turning pro in 2012 as he seeks a shot at a super bantamweight championship. The Phoenix-native added two victories in 2020, defeating Jesus Ruiz in February before stopping longtime contender Cesar Juarez in four rounds in July. Castro was coming off a 2019 campaign that saw him score three victories, including 10-round unanimous decision triumphs over former title challenger Genesis Servania and veteran contender Mario Diaz.

A native of Ibague, Colombia, Escandon (26-5, 18 KOs) has faced a slew of top contenders and champions including featherweight champion Gary Russell Jr. and super bantamweight champion Brandon Figueroa, plus hard-hitting contender Tugstsogt Nyambayar. Escandon captured an interim title in 2016 when he knocked out Robinson Castellanos to earn his world title shot against Russell. Most recently, Escandon scored a first-round knockout over previously unbeaten contender Jhack Tepora in December of 2019.