Trainer Jose Benavidez Sr. says he thinks Dmitry Bivol chose to avoid his son, David Benavidez, and that’s why he vacated his WBC light heavyweight title rather than defend against him.
He believes that Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs) wants to hold onto his remaining three titles for as long as he can for marketability to keep him popular. However, Jose Sr. says Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) is going to take them from Bivol one by one until he has none left.
“Avoiding the Fight”
Benavidez has been elevated to the new WBC 175-lb champion. He also holds the WBA ‘regular’ belt, while Bivol has the Super title with that organization. Jose Sr. says that Benavidez will force Bivol to defend his WBA title against him or vacate.
Bivol will be fighting a trilogy match against Artur Beterbiev next. So, there’s a possibility that he could lose to Beterbiev. If that happens, the responsibility of fighting Benavidez will be on Artur’s shoulders.
“I think he was avoiding the fight. He knows a fight against David Benavidez is a tough fight and a very dangerous fight,” said Jose Benavidez Sr. to Fight Hub TV when asked if he thinks Dmitry Bivol chose to avoid David Benavidez.
Bivol’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, says he wasn’t avoiding Benavidez. According to him, Bivol surrendered the WBC belt because he was under contract to fight Beterbiev in a trilogy and had given his word that he would take that match. He also said the money is better for the Beterbiev fight than the Benavidez match, which would have paid Bivol $8 million.
“Nowadays, all these fighters, they want to make money,” said Jose Sr. “They know that by holding these belts as much as they can, they’ll be able to make money. Once they lose all those belts, they go back to normal fights, and I think that’s what it is. “They’re [Bivol] probably thinking, ‘Let’s just get rid of one belt, and we can keep three belts.’”
If that’s what Bivol was thinking when he relinquished his WBC title, he doesn’t know Benavidez very well. Dmitry has become the new Canelo for Benavidez, and he’s going to hound him nonstop for a fight. He’s going to force Bivol to give up every title until he’s just a regular belt-less contender.
No Escape?
“We’re coming for the WBA also. So, little by little, he’s going to be stripped, and he’s going to have to give all those belts away,” said Jose Sr. about Bivol having to give up his titles one by one after Benavidez goes after them. “Little by little, we’re going to take them away.
“Whoever there is at 175. We want those belts. We already got one. It was super hard to get it, but now we want the other ones. David is the normal champion [regular] with the WBA. Bivol is the Super champion, and we’re going to have to make something happen there. We’re going to try to give the fans those fights. They can run but they can’t hide,” said Benavidez Sr.
Last Updated on 04/13/2025
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