Benavidez says he wants light heavyweight title shot if he beats Gilberto Ramirez

David Benavidez says he wants a fight with Dmitry Bivol if he defeats Gilberto Ramirez. The unbeaten former champion pointed to a return to light heavyweight and a shot at the division’s titles.

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Benavidez meets Ramirez for the unified cruiserweight championship, but he is already looking beyond that assignment. The unbeaten former two-division champion Benavidez wants Bivol to face him after the Ramirez bout.

“I don’t want to make it seem like he is scared or nothing, but he knows what it is when it comes to David Benavidez. He has seen me up close and personal, and I have seen him up close and personal, as well,” said Benavidez to Ariel Helwani.

Benavidez said their past sparring gave both men a clear idea of what a future fight would look like.

“He is a great fighter; we have had some great sparring sessions, but he knows I am not coming to play. He knows that, when David Benavidez steps in that ring, all of those belts are leaving with David Benavidez.”

If Benavidez beats Gilberto Ramirez on May 2, he’ll be holding two major belts at 200 pounds. Naturally, you’d think the goal would be a massive fight with the recently stripped IBF champion Jai Opetaia, who is already calling for it and just made his debut under the Zuffa Boxing banner.

Bivol is busy with Michael Eifert on May 30 in Russia. Even if he wins, Turki Alalshikh seems intent on pushing that trilogy fight between Bivol and Artur Beterbiev toward the end of 2026.

Benavidez jumping back down to 175 while Bivol is tied up with Beterbiev doesn’t make much sense unless he’s just trying to occupy the space and wait for the dust to settle. By avoiding Opetaia, he misses out on what many consider the most dangerous fight available to him right now.

Opetaia has been vocal about chasing legacy and undisputed status. To him, if Benavidez wins those belts from Ramirez and doesn’t fight him, the division remains fractured.

Benavidez’s mention of a two-year wait for Opetaia is exactly what fuels the duck talk. It suggests he wants the cruiserweight accolades without facing the division’s actual boogeyman.

Benavidez is 29 and clearly struggling with the 175-pound limit. You can see it in his frame and hear it in how he talks about not having to cut weight for this camp. If he beats Ramirez, he might find that 200 pounds is where he belongs, making the return to 175 look more like a strategic move to avoid Opetaia at cruiserweight.

“I think that he knows the dangers and the severity of this fight, and that is why he took a tune-up fight first,” said Benavidez about Bivol choosing to defend against his IBF mandatory, Michael Eifert, next.

“I respect Dmitry Bivol; he is a great fighter, but he is definitely going to have to come see me after this fight.”

Bivol is scheduled to defend his light heavyweight titles against Michael Eifert on May 23 in Germany.