Benavidez Warned About Fighting Beterbiev – ‘Can’t Put Him In With Monsters’

David Benavidez has been warned against fighting Artur Beterbiev.
Beterbiev is the current Undisputed Light Heavyweight Champion. Beterbiev defeated Dmitry Bivol to win all the belts, making him the best 175-pounder in the world. He did it at 39, making the feat all the more remarkable. He will rematch Bivol on February 22, which will be for undisputed again. Beterbiev will be 40, raising question marks over how long he has left in the sport.
Benavidez will face David Morrell Jr. next on February 1. If he beats Morrell, he becomes mandatory for the winner of Beterbiev vs. Bivol. Benavidez may fancy his chances, knowing Beterbiev is ageing. But the Russian came back from a knee injury and still beat Bivol, showing how tough of a fighter he is. Sergio Mora warned Benavidez against taking that fight, stating it would be a huge risk.
Mora Reacts
“You can’t put him in with monsters. [And] you can’t put him in with guys that are going to give him issues with power like Beterbiev or footwork and experience of Bivol. You have to calculate. If Benavidez wants to fight the best at 175, he has to fight guys that are coming up in weight like Canelo,” Mora said
But if Benavidez wants the biggest fights, this is a risk he may have to take. He failed to get the Canelo Alvarez fight at 168. This was despite being the WBC Interim Super Middleweight Champion for over two years. The WBC failed to strip Canelo, while Alvarez demanded $150-200 million to make the fight. The whole reason for Benavidez moving up was to target undisputed at 175. If he were to beat the winner of Beterbiev vs. Bivol, he would put himself in a stronger position to get the Canelo fight.
Alvarez would then have the chance of becoming undisputed at 175. That is a major selling point for Canelo. Alvarez has no other big bouts at 168. There is the Terence Crawford fight. However, a win does nothing for his legacy since Crawford would be coming up from two weight classes. Canelo has it all to lose if he were to come out second best.
What’s Next?
There is the chance to face William Scull to become undisputed again. Scull won the IBF belt after Canelo vacated it. But Alvarez has already been undisputed at 168 pounds, while Scull is not a big name. Mora felt that was why Benavidez may have to take a potential Beterbiev fight.
“The way to get to Canelo Alvarez is to beat Artur Beterbiev and become the undisputed champion at 175. I bet Canelo would go for that fight then. Beterbiev would be more than a 2 to 1 favorite. Maybe a 4 to 1 favorite against Benavidez. I’m a huge fan of David Benavidez. At 168, he was a monster. At 175, he has to be moved in a careful fashion,” Mora added
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