Turki Alalshikh’s Vision: David Benavidez vs. Artur Beterbiev, Dmitry Bivol, and Jai Opetaia Fights

Turki Alalshikh said he wants to “one day” match David Benavidez against Artur Beterbiev, Dmitry Bivol, and Jai Opetaia. The “one day” comment by Turki wasn’t exactly motivating, as Bivol and Beterbiev are both aging fighters with a short window of time before they retire.

The Ageing Problem in Boxing’s Elite

A better fight for ‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez would be against IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia. He’s a lot younger than Beterbiev and Bivol. Unlike them, Opetaia still has the hunger because he hasn’t yet reached the super-rich class.

He would be open to fighting Benavidez, and Turki wouldn’t have to deal with the arduous task of negotiations to get him on board. They’re part of the small group of fighters who are nouveau riche, and give them the freedom to be choosy about their opponents. Asking Beterbiev and Bivol to stick their necks out by facing a young lion like Benavidez is probably too much.

Bivol already vacated his WBC title when the sanctioning body had ordered him to defend it against Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs). The perception is that Bivol has no interest in tangling with the much younger 28-year-old Benavidez. His high-pressure style is all wrong for him.

Bivol will be turning 35 in December, and he wasn’t impressive in his questionable victory over 40-year-old Beterbiev last February. Despite being rushed back into the ring after recent knee surgery in 2024, Beterbiev had Bivol badly hurt in the 12th round and close to being stopped. That was the only round in the fight in which Artur applied maximum pressure, and Bivol folded.

One Day” or Never? Benavidez Wait

“I want one day to see [David] Benavidez against Artur [Beterbiev] or [Dmitry] Bivol and maybe also [Jai] Opetaia. One of these three. [Anthony] Yarde will have a chance,” said Turki Alalshikh to the Ring Magazine channel about his vision for WBC light heavyweight champion David Benavidez.

If Turki has difficulty getting Bivol and Beterbiev to face Benavidez, he should focus on these fighters:

– Imam Khataev
– Jai Opetaia
– David Morrell: *rematch
– Canelo Alvarez
– Hamzah Sheeraz