David Benavidez Ends Chase For Canelo Alvarez Fight To Remain At Light-Heavyweight
David Benavidez has informed the WBC that he will give up his super-middleweight mandatory status to remain in the light-heavyweight division, ending his protracted pursuit of Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.
Benavidez (29-0-0 24 KO) had held the WBC’s interim super-middleweight title since stopping David Lemieux in the third round of their bout in May 2022. He defended the belt twice to retain his status as the mandatory challenger to the division’s undisputed champion Alvarez.
However, the Mexican resisted all calls to fight Benavidez, both the numerous attempts from the American to tempt him into a bout and from the wider boxing world. He even claimed he would not entertain any offer less than $150 million.
Tired of waiting for his title shot – and the payday that comes with fighting Canelo – Benavidez made the step up to light-heavyweight for his last fight in June and defeated former world champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk on points in Las Vegas to claim the WBC’s interim title at 175lbs.
Benavidez ‘Wants To Create Own Legacy’
According to Benavidez’s promoter Sampson Lewkowicz, the 27-year-old from Phoenix has received assurances from WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman that he will fight the winner of the undisputed bout between unified champion Artur Beterbiev and WBA champion Dimitry Bivol.
Beterbiev and Bivol are scheduled to fight on October 12 after their initial bout on June 1 was postponed when Beterbiev sustained a serious knee injury in training just weeks prior.
Such guarantees are not something Sulaiman was willing to make at super-middleweight, likely concerned about the financial consequences of stripping Canelo – the world’s biggest fighter – of his organization’s title, despite Benavidez’s two-year wait for his shot.
“This was the decision of [Benavidez]. He doesn’t want to lose any more time waiting for Canelo. He wants to create his own legacy,” Lewkowicz told BoxingScene, adding that his fighter is aiming to take a non-title fight in December in preparation for the world title bout. “He will go down his own path without Canelo.”
Buatsi To Be Side-Stepped?
Benavidez is then reportedly hoping to contest the undisputed light-heavyweight title in May 2025 on Cinco de Mayo weekend – an occasion that has traditionally been earmarked for one of Canelo’s two annual fights.
How other high-ranking fighters in the 175lbs division might react to Benavidez’s fast track to a world title shot will be interesting, particularly Joshua Buatsi.
The unbeaten British fighter is the No 1-ranked contender in both the WBC and WBO standings, while his thrilling win over domestic rival Dan Azeez in February served as a WBA title eliminator.
Only timing has prevented Buatsi from rightfully claiming his first world title shot, with Beterbiev’s injury scuppering plans for him to fight the undisputed winner later in the year. Instead, he has signed on to fight Willy Hutchinson on the undercard of Daniel Dubois v Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium in September after talks with domestic rival Anthony Yarde fell through.
That aside, the more permanent arrival of Benavidez has further spiced up a light-heavyweight division stacked with talent but arguably lacking in household names outside the two champions.
