David Benavidez Might Move Up To Light Heavyweight

David Benavidez is set to fight for the vacant interim WBC super middleweight title against David Lemieux on Saturday, May 21.

Benavidez (25-0, 22 KOs) will meet Lemieux in a 12-round main event on Showtime from Glendale, Arizona. But, looking ahead, the former two-time super middleweight champion said he could consider moving up to light heavyweight.

“Every fight I go into, I either want to get a knockout or a stoppage… That’s the plan,” Benavidez told Boxing Scene.

Then, given he is successful on May 21, the 25-year-old is looking to take on a big name in the division.

He was previously tangled in a reported multi-fight deal that would give him a shot at Canelo Alvarez, but Alvarez chose the deal with light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol and old rival Gennadiy Golovkin.

“I feel like besides Caleb Plant or Jermall Charlo, Demetrius Andrade is the only other fight that makes sense. These other fighters I want are Caleb Plant, Jermall Charlo and even Edgar Berlanga. And if not, I think it might be time to go up to 175 pounds,” Benavidez added.

Some fans have criticized and accused Alvarez of “ducking” Benavidez and choosing to fight Caleb Plant, who he scored a TKO over and became the first undisputed super middleweight champion. Then Alvarez was reportedly jumping to cruiserweight, but those plans seemed to be abandoned as Alvarez is set to face Bivol on May 7.

Two weeks after that fight, Benavidez will try to make a statement to the division.

“I’ve been trying to make all these fights happen for a long time. I feel like right now, when I win the WBC interim title, I’ll have a little bit more leverage. But if I can’t make them happen, it’s because the fighters don’t want to make the fight with me happen.”