David Benavidez could be about to have his future resolved after being called out for the fight he is craving.
Benavidez affirmed his status as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world earlier this month when he successfully stepped up to cruiserweight and stopped Gilberto Ramirez inside six rounds to win the WBA and WBO titles at 200lbs.
There have been plenty of different options floated for ‘The Mexican Monster’ since that victory, including another clash at cruiserweight against Jai Opetaia, and even an ambitious move to heavyweight to face unified champion Oleksandr Usyk.
The most likely scenario is a return to 175lbs where he holds the WBC title, in order to have an undisputed battle with WBA, WBO and IBF light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, with Benavidez himself stating that the Russian is number one on his hit list.
That fight may now be set to become a reality, after a post by the IBA revealed that Bivol’s trainer Gennadi Mashyanov wants his man to face Benavidez in order to ‘shut his mouth.’
“My personal goal right now is this guy Benavidez – who let’s just say, talks a lot. We’ll see what he’s really made of. I’d like him to stop running his mouth. For that to happen, someone has to get in the ring with him and shut it for good.”
Bivol returns to action later next week when he faces mandatory challenger Michael Eifert, and it seems a win there could now pave the way for an undisputed showdown against Benavidez.
