Fans on social media are roasting Turki Alalshikh, believing he’s protecting undisputed light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol from facing his WBC mandatory David Benavidez, and him losing the four belts to him.
Bivol’s “Protection”?
The WBC ordered Bivol to begin negotiations with Benavidez. They have a deadline of April 8th to complete a deal before a purse bid is ordered.
Fans believe Turki is worried about the titles and Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs) getting destroyed by ‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez, rendering him valueless as a marketing tool for a rematch with Canelo Alvarez.
In 2022, Bivol defeated Canelo by a 12 round unanimous decision. So, there’s the revenge factor. However, if Benavidez crushes Bivol like he usually does finesse-level fighters, Turki couldn’t create fan interest in a Canelo-Bivol rematch.
It’s not in Turki’s best interest for Bivol to fight Benavidez because he’s 100% all wrong for him. The judges couldn’t bail Bivol out like they did in his rematch with former undisputed 175-lb champion Artur Beterbiev last month on February 22nd in Riyadh.
That fight should have been a 12 round draw in the eyes of many people, but the judges gave it to Bivol. Turki is interested in a Bivol-Beterbiev trilogy, but there’s less to worry about in that fight. Beterbiev is so slow that Bivol will be able to go the 12 rounds, and win on the cards in likely another controversial result. But if Bivol were to fight Benavidez, he would take the judges out of play by knocking him out.
If Turki’s new league starts up soon, Benavidez might never get a chance against Bivol. Even if it doesn’t, it’s likely that Dmitry will vacate the WBC belt, leaving Benavidez with no chance of fighting him.
“Best vs. Best”?
Fans are unhappy with Turki because he and Dana White claim they want the ‘best vs. best,’ yet Bivol will swerve Benavidez to face Beterbiev again. Also, Turki has Canelo fighting William Scull on May 3rd and Terence Crawford on September 13th. That’s not the best vs. best. Scull is just a belt-holder.
Crawford, 37, has never fought at 168, and would likely be beaten by six to eight contenders in the division if he had to work his way into a title shot against Alvarez. He’s just an old guy that Turki likes.
