Jose Benavidez Sr. was surprised by Dmitry Bivol’s decision to vacate his WBC Light Heavyweight Title rather than face his son David Benavidez.

Bivol had just become the undisputed champion after beating Artur Beterbiev in their rematch. However, when the WBC ordered Bivol to face mandatory challenger Benavidez and set an April 8 deadline to reach a deal, the Russian chose to vacate his title. Benavidez earned his shot by beating David Morrell Jr.

His promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz, had already stated they wouldn’t accept a step-aside deal. With strong Saudi interest in a Bivol-Beterbiev trilogy, that fight will likely happen. Benavidez now holds the WBC title at 175 lbs and will shift focus to his first title defense, as he could face Anthony Yarde or Callum Smith. However, Benavidez Sr. did not see Bivol’s decision coming.

“We wanted to fight Bivol, and then the plan was to fight Zurdo Ramirez. Let them [Artur Beterbiev and Bivol] do the trilogy, and we’ll fight the winner or loser. In the meantime, these other two fights [Smith and Yarde] are hard. There are not easy fights. Now, we got to focus on what’s in front of us and then focus on the next fight,” Benavidez said