David Benavidez plans to return to the ring at the latter end of the year.
Benavidez is coming off a win against Oleksandr Gvozdyk in his first fight at light heavyweight. The victory made him the WBC Interim Light Heavyweight Champion and the mandatory winner of Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol. Those two will box on October 12 for the Undisputed Light Heavyweight Championship.
Benavidez has said he will stay at 175 pounds, ruling out the Canelo Alvarez fight. The Mexican Monster was the WBC mandatory at 168 and 175, meaning he had to decide which weight class to pursue. Now that Canelo is no longer undisputed after getting stripped by the IBF for not facing his mandatory William Scull, all roads point towards Benavidez staying at 175.
He has expressed his desire to win the undisputed light heavyweight championship on Cinco De Mayo. Before that, he could box David Morrell Jr., but that is a risky fight since the Cuban is an undefeated KO artist. Another option is to face Anthony Yarde. Yarde has faced the big names at 175, losing to Sergey Kovalev and Beterbiev, making him the perfect candidate for a precursor to an undisputed fight. The Mexican Monster wants one more fight this year.
BREAKING: 🚨🚨David Benavidez will BACK November or December… I recommended Anthony Yarde….. Full Interview…. “I CANT FORCE A MAN(Canelo) TO FIGHT ME” pic.twitter.com/QsYyDqlnhk
— 2ToneDaSupastar (@2ToneDaSupastar) July 28, 2024
“[I want to fight in] November or December,” Benavidez said
Reaction
Benavidez wants to stay well away from Yarde… Yarde will hurt him bad. Yarde is no joke.
— Psncoins (@Psncoins1) July 28, 2024
Tell
Him to fight morrell— TXINSTYGATOR (@zuperguap) July 29, 2024
Yarde would be a great fight before he take on the big dogs.
— TheEnforcer9591 (@ElijahBryant11) July 28, 2024