David Benavidez’s father and trainer, Jose Benavidez Sr, has shelved a potential world title fight while his son targets other champions at light-heavyweight and cruiserweight.
The 29-year-old will face one such fighter on May 2, when he headlines a Premier Boxing Champions card against Gilberto Ramirez at the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.
Having never previously fought at 200lbs, Benavidez is entering uncharted waters when he attempts to dethrone the WBO and WBA world champion.
But still, many believe the American’s blistering hands and tremendous engine will be too much for Ramirez, who claimed his titles by dethroning Arsen Goulamirian and Chris Billam-Smith in 2024.
Those two performances were then followed by another unanimous decision victory, this time against Yuniel Dorticos last June, with ‘Zurdo’ having now established himself as a top-flight cruiserweight.
But while Benavidez must remain focused on the task at hand, his father is already mentioning the likes of Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev as potential opponents.
It would therefore appear that, even with a win over Ramirez, the WBC world light-heavyweight champion is likely to move back down to 175lbs.
One fight that has effectively been ruled out is against Jai Opetaia, whose status as IBF world cruiserweight champion remains uncertain after he claimed the inaugural Zuffa title against Brandon Glanton last week.
Speaking with Sean Zittel, Benavidez Sr insisted that a clash between his son and Opetaia is perhaps one for the future, but does not warrant their attention right now.
“I think [Opetaia] gets hurt every [time] he fights; he gets hurt [by] fighters that are not even known. I think he needs a little bit more experience.
“He doesn’t have the experience that David has. I think he is going to be better in about three or four years. I see Beterbiev, Bivol and ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez [as being] more dangerous than Opetaia.
“In the future, anything’s possible. [But] I don’t see ourselves fighting for the Zuffa belt right now. Right now, our mind is on Bivol, Beterbiev and ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez.”
If Benavidez moves back down to 175lbs after facing Ramirez, then an undisputed showdown with Bivol could become increasingly likely.
