David Benavidez looks to make a quick pit stop at cruiserweight, taking on unified world champion Gilberto Ramirez, before moving back down to 175lbs.
The 29-year-old made a first defence of his WBC light-heavyweight title against Anthony Yarde, stopping him in the seventh round of their largely one-sided clash in November.
In doing so, the ‘Mexican Monster’ officially ignited his reign as a two-division world champion, having previously claimed the WBC strap at 168lbs.
Much of his time at super-middleweight, however, was spent as the WBC ‘interim’ champion, patiently waiting for a shot at then-undisputed king Canelo Alvarez.
With that opportunity never materialising, Benavidez then decided to move up in weight and chase the likes of Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
He has now found himself in a familiar position, with a fight against either Beterbiev or Bivol seeming unrealistic at this stage. As a result, Benavidez is expected to move up to 200lbs and challenge Ramirez, who holds the WBO and WBA titles, in May, pending an official announcement.
After that, the unbeaten American hopes to move back down to light-heavyweight, where Bivol is expected to return in the coming months and defend his three titles against IBF mandatory challenger Michael Eifert.
Speaking to Boxing Scene, Benavidez mentioned a possible undisputed clash with Bivol but, equally, said that he would be happy to defend his WBC strap against Beterbiev.
“I’m going up specifically for that [Ramirez] fight. But I’m coming back down after that. Instead of me waiting on a fight, I’m moving up to get a recognisable name.
“I’m going for those [WBA and WBO] cruiserweight belts, but then I want to come back down and get Artur Beterbiev and Bivol.”
