David Benavidez is launching DB Promotions to guide his own career once his contract with Sampson Lewkowicz wraps up in December. Even with the change, he intends to keep working alongside PBC and his existing inner circle.
Benavidez revealed his upcoming December bout marks the end of his decade-long deal with Lewkowicz. He treated the decision as a natural progression, making sure to acknowledge the promoter who helped build him into an attraction.
“This is the last fight on my contract,” Benavidez said to Brian Custer. “You know, I’ve honored the contract. The contract has been 10 years.”
Benavidez spoke carefully about the shift, never downplaying Lewkowicz while making it clear he is ready for independence.
“Sampson, he’s did a wonderful job,” Benavidez said. “He’s one of the greatest promoters of all time. But, you know, it’s just my time to do my own thing.”
When questioned about the venture’s name, he confirmed it will be DB Promotions, serving as his primary promotional banner starting early next year.
Stepping out on his own gives him significant leverage over the business side of his fight nights. Still, key details like equity splits, bankrolling, and operational responsibilities remain unstated, meaning the precise financial upside is impossible to calculate right now.
Putting his name on the banner gives Benavidez a chance to pocket more of the promotional money. That’s an obvious reason to make the move. But he still wants Al Haymon and TGB running the show alongside him. Having his own company won’t make the television money his, and he’ll still need those partners to get fights funded and dates booked.
Benavidez also aims to look past his own headline slots, expressing interest in signing boxers who train alongside him and his father, Jose Benavidez Sr.
“There’s a lot of great fighters I could take under my wing and put them under the promotion company,” he remarked.
Signing prospects gives DB Promotions life after Benavidez hangs up the gloves, yet building an actual stable turns a fighter into a financier. The expenses add up quickly with club show site rentals, airfare, hotel blocks, and purse guarantees that rarely turn a dime. Promoting his own headlining dates is one thing, but bankrolling young talent is a financial drain that devours capital long before a prospect ever sniffs a television date.
The move could let Benavidez pocket more of the money from potential fights with Jai Opetaia, Artur Beterbiev or Oleksandr Usyk. But with Haymon and TGB still involved, putting DB Promotions on the banner hardly means he’s going it alone.
