Roy Jones Jr has urged David Benavidez to avoid risking his unbeaten record ahead of a potential showdown with Oleksandr Usyk.
The Mexican-American made his 200lb debut in May, becoming a three-division world champion by dethroning Gilberto Ramirez with a vicious sixth-round finish.
In doing so, Benavidez claimed the WBO and WBA titles and will now attempt to topple WBC cruiserweight champion Michal Cieslak on December 5.
Usyk, meanwhile, is now targeting a move back down to 200lbs after having not fought since his 11th-round stoppage of Rico Verhoeven in May.
Speaking to DAZN, the Ukrainian confirmed his interest in a fight against Benavidez at cruiserweight.
“I cleaned out heavyweight and now I’ll go back to my weight. Now [I weigh] 96/97kg. Today there is change at heavyweight, if I have an opportunity at cruiserweight, I’m back. It’s a big fight because Benavidez is a big champion. When I have an opportunity, I take this opportunity. This is life.”
Equally, the 29-year-old has expressed his interest in facing Usyk while, at the same time, being open to locking horns with Jai Opetaia on Cinco de Mayo weekend in 2027.
But while Benavidez is heavily favoured to dethrone Cieslak, it is far less certain that he defeats Opetaia and keeps himself in the conversation to face Usyk.
In order to preserve the Usyk fight, then, pound-for-pound legend Jones has told ATS Fight that Benavidez should stay well away from Opetaia.
“It is not smart for David Benavidez to give Jai Opetaia a shot at his name right now.
“[He should] fight Usyk while it is hot, while it makes sense. You can always fight Opetaia [afterwards] if you want to. If you lose to Usyk, the Opetaia fight is still there. If you lose to Opetaia, the Usyk fight is gone.
“Be smart about this – go and take Usyk while the iron is still hot.”
Jones also named Usyk-Benavidez as “one of the biggest fights of this decade”, with the two unbeaten stars potentially meeting in an undisputed showdown.
