Two-division world champion David Benavidez is seeking greatness and he hopes to see his fellow American fighters do the same.
The 29-year-old has shared his thoughts on the potential showdown between Ryan Garcia and Shakur Stevenson, whilst encouraging the pair to collide.
Ever since Ryan Garcia dethroned Mario Barrios to get his hands on the WBC welterweight world title last month, pound-for-pound star Shakur Stevenson has been the name on his lips, but the pair are yet to come to an agreement.
All signs pointed toward a clash with Conor Benn prior to Garcia’s victory, but in the post-fight interview, ‘King Ry’ made a beeline toward Stevenson, who defeated Teofimo Lopez to claim the WBO super-lightweight crown a few weeks prior.
Originally, Garcia had threatened to return to the 140lb division in order to challenge for Stevenson’s title, but the Californian has now u-turned on those plans and instead demanded that the Newark southpaw comes up to welterweight in order to make the fight happen.
In an interview with FightHype, Benavidez spoke with excitement ahead of the potential clash and encouraged Stevenson to test himself and grow his legacy whilst he is in his prime.
“It is not an easy fight, it is a 50/50 fight. I’m not going to say that Ryan Garcia is going to knock Shakur out and I am not saying that Shakur is going to go and knock Ryan Garcia out – it is a 50/50 fight and that is what we want to see.
“Everybody moves at their own pace. I think that Shakur has done a hell of a job, he is a great fighter, he is definitely going to be a legend and I just think that you should try and make the legend as big as you can, while you can.”
Stevenson has maintained that he would require a rehydration clause in order to accept a fight above his natural weight division – a proposal that Garcia appears unwilling to agree to.
