David Benavidez has made a drastic pivot as he intends to remain at 200lbs, effectively removing a fighter from the top of his hit list.
‘The Mexican Monster’ moved up to cruiserweight and dethroned Gilberto Ramirez in May, scoring a vicious sixth-round stoppage that saw him claim the WBA and WBO titles.
In doing so, Benavidez became a three-division world champion while retaining his WBC light-heavyweight strap, so as to leave himself the option of dropping back down in weight.
Now, though, the 29-year-old has ruled out any future fights at 175lbs and, in turn, withdrawn his interest in an undisputed clash with Dmitry Bivol.
Benavidez had previously named Bivol as being at the top of his hit list, with the unified champion set to defend his titles against Callum Smith in December.
While speaking with The Ring’s Mike Coppinger, however, the Mexican-American insisted that he anticipates the remainder of his career being at either 200lbs or possibly even heavyweight.
“I feel great at this weight class. I don’t have to lose weight; I’ve never felt as good as I did in my last fight.
“So I wanna be the reigning [cruiserweight] champion for a long time. But if we get a fight with Usyk, I’m not going to turn it down.”
Quick ringside interview with David Benavidez after Jai Opetaia’s emphatic TKO win over Noel Mikaelian. Benavidez says Opetaia looked slow and easy to hit, easy to hurt. Who are you picking in this one? One of the best fights you can make in boxing 🧨 pic.twitter.com/toW5862icQ
— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) September 13, 2026
In his next outing, Benavidez is set to face Michal Cieslak for the WBC cruiserweight title on December 12, with Noel Mikaelian likely to be stripped of the belt following his ninth-round stoppage defeat to Jai Opetaia over the weekend.
Should he emerge with three of the four major belts at 200lbs, the plan would then be for Benavidez to collide with Opetaia in 2027.
