Fight fans are keen to see David Benavidez challenge Dmitry Bivol for the undisputed light-heavyweight world title, and ‘The Mexican Monster’ has named his issue with the style of his 175lb rival.
Benavidez moved up to the light-heavyweight scene back in 2024 and was soon elevated to WBC world champion following a triumph over Oleksandr Gvozdyk for the WBC Interim title upon his debut at the weight.
The Phoenix-born fighter then moved up to cruiserweight division last month and captured the unified WBA and WBO title with a knockout win over Gilverto Ramirez.
Despite this, Benavidez has maintained his goal of overthrowing unified WBA, WBO and IBF champion Bivol and becoming the undisputed light-heavyweight ruler, believing himself to be capable of returning to the division at a time of his choosing.
Therefore, fans remain hopeful that the two pound-for-pound stars could collide in 2027, but speaking to Luis Parra, Benavidez explained his gripe with the style of Bivol, critical of the 35-year-old’s recent victory over Michael Eifert.
“The one thing I didn’t like about Bivol is that he’s a very careful fighter. He dropped that guy in the first round, but he wasn’t trying to attack, he wasn’t trying to finish the fight.
“If you’ve watched Bivol’s fights, that’s how he fights a lot of the time. He’s not a killer, but he has everything needed to be one.
“For example, maybe in this fight he wanted to get some rounds in and see how he felt physically. But even if that’s the case, you can knock somebody out in rounds ten, eleven or twelve. He could have done it.
“He’s a very strong fighter, a very smart fighter. Everything he does is good. But I’ve noticed that if you’re not putting a lot of pressure on him, he’ll just box you and win every round on points. Honestly, nobody wants to see that. The fans pay good money to watch a great fight, to see a knockout, He’s not a risk taker.”
Bivol-Benavidez is unlikely to happen this year, with Bivol still expected for a trilogy showdown against Artur Beterbiev, whilst Benavidez looks poised to pursue an alternate title unification.
