David Benavidez has decided to stay at 175 to pursue a title shot against the winner of the Dmitry Bivol vs. Artur Beterbiev light heavyweight clash.
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman posted on X tonight, revealing that Benavidez’s promoter has notified him that he’ll remain at light heavyweight, where he holds the interim 175-lb title and is mandatory for the Bivol-Beterbiev winner.
Last month, on June 15th, Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) defeated Oleksandr Usyk by a twelve-round unanimous decision in a WBC light heavyweight title eliminator to capture the interim title and become mandatory.
Canelo’s Decision Seals Benavidez’s Fate
Benavidez, 27, vacated his WBC interim super middleweight title, which was likely the result of today’s news of undisputed 168-lb champion Canelo Alvarez finalizing a deal to defend against WBA mandatory Edgar Berlanga on September 14th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Canelo’s decision to face Berlanga rather than Benavidez made it clear that he had no plans to face him. Terence Crawford is already being pegged as Canelo’s opponent in the first half of next year, provided Alvarez is victorious against Berlanga on September 14th. Crawford will be moving up two divisions to challenge Canelo for his titles.
Although Benavidez has given up on his Canelo dream because there are no opportunities for him, he can still do quite well financially fighting the winner of the Bivol-Beterbiev undisputed clash in 2025. His Excellency Turki Alalashikh is interested in Benavidez fighting the winner of that fight, and it’s one that he won’t have a difficult time getting.
Beterbiev and Bivol would be open to fighting Benavidez, as that’s a well-paying fight for them. The 175-lb division has no big names, and Benavidez will immediately be the most popular fighter that either of these two champions could face.
Benavidez didn’t look great in his fight against Gvozdyk last month. He showed very little power and faded after six rounds. After the fight, Benavidez blamed his power absence on hand injuries, but some boxing fans are skeptical because none of his shots showed much pop.
What’s more worrisome is that Benavidez gassed out after six rounds. He couldn’t blame that on an injury. The extra weight he’ll carry as a light heavyweight could slow him down, making him vulnerable.
The WBC has just received a letter from @SampsonBoxing exclusive promoter of @Benavidez300 confirming that David Benavidez will continue his career as Lightheavyweight . He is confirmed as WBC 175 interim champion and is the mandatory contender for the winner Beterbiev vs Bivol
— Mauricio Sulaiman (@wbcmoro) July 23, 2024
