David Benavidez believes one of the sport’s flagship champions is actively avoiding him, claiming there have been “multiple opportunities” to make the fight happen.
The WBC light-heavyweight champion is widely considered to be a top 10 pound-for-pound operator, capable of significantly enhancing his legacy over the next few years.
His immediate opportunity to do so will arrive on May 2, when Benavidez bids to become a three-division world champion against WBO and WBA cruiserweight titlist Gilberto Ramirez.
Irrespective of the result this weekend, the 29-year-old has said he will move back down to 175lbs and pursue an undisputed showdown with Dmitry Bivol.
The unified light-heavyweight champion is gearing up to defend his titles against mandatory challenger Michael Eifert, headlining a card at the UMMC Arena, Russia, on May 30.
This represents his first outing since defeating Artur Beterbiev in their immediate rematch, which saw Bivol exact his revenge with a majority decision victory in February 2025.
Should he wish to become a two-time undisputed king, then the 35-year-old must ultimately face Benavidez, who insists he got the better of their sparring session around eight years ago.
Back then, the pair had already shared numerous rounds, yet Benavidez has told Ariel Helwani that Bivol came away from their final spar with far less confidence.
“They can say whatever they want… He’s felt my power up close and personal. I felt his power up close and personal, too, but I got the better of that. I got the better of that last sparring session we had.
“I don’t let that get to my head because I know I have to come extremely prepared for him, but I feel like that [sparring session] kind of got stuck in his head.
“We’ve had multiple opportunities to make this fight happen, and it hasn’t happened, so I think that speaks volumes on its own.”
Benavidez was elevated from ‘interim’ to full WBC champion after Bivol vacated the belt last year, but this was largely because the Russian needed to undergo back surgery.
