Benavidez Wants To Box Crawford – ‘I Would Love To Get It’
David Benavidez is willing to box Terence Crawford at super middleweight.
Benavidez is looking to get back in the ring following his win over Oleksandr Gvozdyk, which made him the WBC Interim Light Heavyweight Champion. That was his first fight at the weight class, as the win made him mandatory for the winner of Artur Beterbiev or Dmitry Bivol. They face off on October 12 for undisputed.
Reports indicate that Benavidez could be back in action in December to keep himself active, with a view to fighting for undisputed next year. No opponents have been announced, but he did bring up a fight with Crawford. Bud has been chasing the Canelo Alvarez fight at 168, which he doubled down on after Canelo’s win against Edgar Berlanga. But if that does not happen, Benavidez has his reasons for taking the fight. It would be for revenge against Crawford, who beat his brother Jose Benavidez Jr.
Benavidez On Crawford
“Yeah, I’ve been wanting to get it. I would love to get it, but I don’t think he’d come up to 168. I’m not even at 168 anymore, but I’d love to fight or even spar Crawford,” Benavidez said
That fight is unlikely to happen for the following reasons. Benavidez boxes at 175 pounds, making it much more difficult for him to return to 168. The Mexican monster has previously said that he would only come back down to super middleweight in order to fight Canelo Alvarez. But that was when Canelo was undisputed at the weight class.
Alvarez is no longer undisputed after the IBF stripped him for failing to defend against his mandatory William Scull. Even if Benavidez did come back down to super middleweight, he will likely rehydrate to a significant number on fight night. That would make Crawford’s task even bigger than taking on a conventional 168-pounder.
Crawford also has his reasons for only wanting to fight Canelo. While he cannot become disputed at that super middleweight, a victory over Canelo presents a massive payday at this stage of his career. It also allows him to secure a win against an all-time great, as he would be beating a four-division champion who has only lost to Floyd Mayweather and Bivol.
Will It Happen?
There is also a suggestion that Benavidez has bigger things to aim for. A fight with Crawford does not help him become undisputed 168 or 175 pounds. Facing the winner of Beterbiev or Bivol would earn him the biggest purse of his career and the opportunity to go down as an all-time great. Benavidez has spoken previously about knocking out Bivol during sparring, and if Bivol were to come out victorious, Benevidez would fancy his chances.
If the Canelo fight does not happen for Crawford, he may be better positioned to chase undisputed at 154. Achieving that makes him undisputed in a third-weight class in the four-belt era, something no one has managed to achieve. That would go some way to making the claim that he is one of the best.
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