David Benavidez will be back inside the ring in March or May of next year after taking care of business last Saturday night in stopping Kyrone Davis (16-3-1, 6 KOs) in the seventh round at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
Benavidez (25-0, 22 KOs) would like a more prominent name for his next fight in 2022, preferably Canelo Alvarez or Jermall Charlo.
The former two-time WBC super middleweight champion Benavidez, 24, is already Canelo’s mandatory for his WBC title. Still, the sanctioning body doesn’t appear to be in a hurry to order the fight.
The WBC might be worried that if they order Canelo to fight Benavidez, the Mexican star will vacate their belt rather than defend it.
We saw that happen before when Canelo gave up his WBC title at 160 rather than face Gennadiy Golovkin, his mandatory.
Canelo on Benavidez ‘s radar
“I think that’s what’s going to happen, that’s what it’s looking down to,” said David Benavidez to Fighthype when told that he and Canelo will be the equivalent of Erik Morales vs. Marco Antonio Barrera at 168.
“It makes me happy that a lot of people doubt me, but I know that you see it when I’m in the ring with these fighters; how do they look when they lose their will and lose their spirit as the fight goes on and on?” said Benavidez.
“I can keep that pressure on all night. I’m not just a reckless fighter going in there and getting hit. People think I get hit, but I really don’t get hit like that.
“I block all the shots, and I land at a super crazy percentage rate. I think tonight they said it was 60%? My last fight was 50, and my fight before that was 52. It’s pretty crazy. I know what I’m doing.
“So I know this fights going to be good between me and Canelo. Hopefully, it happens,” said Benavidez.
It’s believed that Canelo won’t fight Benavidez for another two years, as he’s got other fighters that he wants to face that will keep him busy. It would be better for Canelo to tackle the fight with Benavidez while he’s still in his prime, more or less.
The longer Canelo waits to fight Benavidez, the worse it’ll be for him because he’s a lot older and has a lot of mileage on his odometer.
We’re likely going to see Canelo ignore Benavidez and focus on his new goal of becoming the undisputed champion at light heavyweight. Canelo will need to beat these three fighters to become the undisputed champion at 175:
- Artur Beterbiev – IBF & WBC
- Dmitry Bivol – WBA
- Joe Smith Jr. – WBO
It’s going to be easier said than done for Canelo to capture all four belts at 175, as the division doesn’t have weak champions like the ones he defeated at 168 to win his four belts.
The bunch that Canelo beat at 168 to become the undisputed champion were a woeful lot, guys with no business holding world titles.
It’s going to be a lot harder for Canelo to capture belts against the murderer’s row at 175, and there’s a good chance he’ll meet with failure.
Benavidez to fight in March or May
“He was moving a lot, but I feel like he didn’t have the condition because he couldn’t keep it up,” said Benavidez about his opponent Kyrone Davis last Saturday.
“Respect for him too, Kyrone Davis and his team. They’re all outstanding guys. I respect everybody that’s in the ring like that because I know how hard it is.
“There were some shots he was throwing, and I was pulling back. But I definitely got to work on that more. I’m not saying I do everything good. I definitely got to work on that more. A lot of stuff, but I’m looking forward to it.
“I feel like in my next fight, you guys are going to see that I’m going to be a completely different fighter,” said Benavidez. “I’m going to be a better defensive fighter.
“I’m still going to be a good offensive fighter, but I want this. I want to change myself and make myself better.
“Hopefully in March or May. We’ll see what they got planned and got in store for me. So we’ll see what happens,” said Benavidez when asked about his plans for his next fight date.
“I’m down,” Benavidez said about the possibility of fighting in the chief support spot on the undercard of Canelo Alvarez’s next fight. “I can fight Anthony Dirrell again.”
It should be interesting to see who Benavidez winds up fighting next in March or May. He says he wants Canelo Alvarez, but that’s probably too much to hope for.
Canelo will likely choose Gennadiy Golovkin as his opponent for May 2022, and if not him, it might be IBF/WBC light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev.
An excellent option for Benavidez’s next fight would be one of these guys:
- David Morrell Jr
- Daniel Jacobs
- John Ryder
- Edgar Berlanga
- Jaime Munguia
- Aidos Yerbossynuly
- Carlos Gongora
- Jose Uzcategui
- Zach Parker
- Caleb Plant
Think the American champ is going to get his belt back? No. Oh what the heck.
What about Ricky Hattan pulling down the left glove for fury? What ever happened to them for glove tampering?
Is fury still allowed to fight in America? The UK has disqualified fury from ever boxing in the UK for cheating.
Did fury ever go to prison for attempted murder after eggweight loaded gloves caved in the skull of Deontay Wilder? Did he get stripped of the WBC belt? Did fury get fined? I have the picture of the eggweight clearly visible through the leather glove. It’s a similar photo of the right glove with fingers clearly visible through the leather glove proving grounds for disqualification. What happened during the WBC investigation? What happened during the Nevada State Athletic Commission investigation?