David Benavidez may have bigger options in front of him than chasing Dmitry Bivol or Jai Opetaia, and Roy Jones Jr. thinks he should take advantage of them while his stock is still high.
Benavidez (32-0, 29 KOs) stopped Gilberto Ramirez earlier this month to capture the WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles, adding them to the WBC light heavyweight belt he still holds at 175 pounds. The win immediately opened the door to several directions for his next fight, including a move back down for an undisputed clash with unified light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol or staying at cruiserweight for fights against Jai Opetaia and others.
Roy Jones Jr. believes there is a smarter move available.
“It is not smart for David Benavidez to give Jai Opetaia a shot at his name right now, because he’s hot right now.
“Go up and fight Usyk while you’re hot and it makes sense. You can always come back down and fight Opetaia if you want to.
“If you [lose] to Usyk, the Opetaia fight’s still there. If you lose to Opetaia, the Usyk fight’s gone, so you’ve got to be smart about this. Go take Usyk while the iron is hot,” said Jones to ALL THE SMOKE FIGHT.
Jones pointed to timing more than weight classes. Benavidez has become one of boxing’s hottest names after dominating Ramirez, and Oleksandr Usyk’s next move remains unclear beyond Saturday’s fight against Rico Verhoeven in Egypt.
If Usyk defeats Verhoeven as expected, attention will quickly shift toward what kind of event Turki Alalshikh wants next. Benavidez moving straight to heavyweight for a Usyk fight would fit the same crossover-superfight direction Saudi Arabia has been pushing over the last two years.
Benavidez has repeatedly said he still wants Bivol, but that fight remains tied to sanctioning-body politics and Bivol’s May 30 defense against Michael Eifert. Opetaia is another option at cruiserweight, though Jones made it clear he sees more danger than reward in that route.
The heavyweight path suddenly looks less unrealistic after Benavidez came into the Ramirez fight weighing around 200 pounds and physically handled the bigger man without much trouble.
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Last Updated on 2026/05/22 at 4:27 PM
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