David Benavidez’s move up to 175 is only a temporary move for a fight against Oleksandr Gvozyk before returning to 168.
Jose Benavidez Sr., the father, and trainer for David, says they want to “take a little break” from 168 and will go up to 175 to fight for the WBC interim light heavyweight title and mandatory spot.
It’s a move that will set Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs) up for a potentially lucrative fight against the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol winner. If His Excellency is interested in staging a fight between Benavidez and the Bivol-Beterbiev winner in Saudi Arabia, it would be a monstrous payday for ‘The Mexican Monster.
The idea of Benavidez returning to 168 after his fight with Gvozyk is in hopes of Al Haymon of PBC setting up a fight with Canelo Alvarez, but it remains to be seen if that match happens. It might take a huge offer from Haymon to get Canelo to agree to the fight.
“This is Getting Boring”
“I’m super excited about [David Benavidez] going to 175. Let’s take a little break and then come back [to 168]. This is getting boring,” said trainer Jose Benavidez Jr. to Thaboxingvoice about his son, David Benavidez going up to 175 to face Oleksandr Gvozyk this summer.
“I don’t know. I’m pretty sure we’re going to come back [to 168]. David is young; he’s 27 years old and very dedicated. He’s super disciplined. It doesn’t even worry me. We’re just focused on this next fight, look spectacular, and see what’s next.”
There would be less need for Benavidez to fight Canelo if he made a name for himself without him. Benavidez is hurting his career by not fighting dangerous guys like David Morrell and Jai Opetaia. He should have fought Morrell already and moved up to 175 or 200.
Understanding the Canelo Allure
“I want to thank Al Haymon for all the great work he’s done with David. Right now, David is one of the highest-paid. If you asked me if I would fight Crawford. Absolutely not,” said Jose Sr., reacting to Terence Crawford wanting to go up three divisions to face Canelo at 168.
“I have a 118 that would love to fight Canelo. Everybody would love to fight Canelo. You don’t lose nothing by trying to go up three or four divisions. They’re going to make a lot of money, and they’re going to try and do something that has never been done,” said Jose Sr.
