David Benavidez may need to start considering his options for his next fight because Turki Alashikh wants a trilogy match if Dmitry Bivol defeats undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev in their rematch this Saturday, February 22nd, in Riyadh.
Benavidez said he’d consider moving up to cruiserweight to challenge WBA and WBO champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez for his two titles if he can’t get the Beterbiev-Bivol 2 winner right away. He might need to go that route because there’s a good chance Bivol will win on Saturday.
Beterbiev-Bivol’s Impact
If Beterbiev wins on Saturday, that’s the way for David to go because a match against him would be huge. Unlike Canelo Alvarez, Beterbiev would willingly accept a fight against Benavidez because he wouldn’t dwarfed in size, and he prefers that kind of brawling style.
Benavidez has the size to go up to cruiserweight to fight Ramirez if he can get that fight, and it would be an excellent payday for him. Returning to 175 wouldn’t be a big deal because he’s already a cruiserweight in size and has been a long time.
However, it wouldn’t be a smart move for Benavidez to stay at cruiserweight to face IBF champion Jai Opetaia if he’s victorious against Gilberto Ramirez because he hits too hard. He would do much worse damage to Benavidez’s face than David Morrell did in their fight on February 1st. Benavidez gets hit too much, and it wouldn’t end well for him if Opetaia nails him as often as Morrell did.
‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) is the WBC interim 175-lb champion and is mandatory to Artur Beterbiev’s belt, and he’s ready to fight him if he’s victorious on Saturday. Benavidez and his father, Jose Benavidez Sr., said they preferred fighting Bivol, but that’s not happening, given Turki’s decision to have a trilogy if he’s victorious.
If Benavidez chooses to fight someone at 175 while he waits for the Beterbiev vs. Bivol trilogy, these would be excellent options:
– Joshua Buatsi
– Anthony Yarde
– David Morrell: Rematch
– Willy Hutchinson
“Yeah, he’s a very good fighter. Now he has some belt at 175. He’s a good opponent, of course,” said Dmitry Bivol to Ring Magazine about David Benavidez.
Last Updated on 02/17/2025
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