Roy Jones Jr. tells Benavidez: Skip Bivol, fight Usyk

Roy Jones Jr. wants David Benavidez to forget about Dmitry Bivol and go after Oleksandr Usyk instead.

The four-division champion told All The Smoke Fight that Benavidez should pursue the Ukrainian immediately rather than taking tune-up fights at heavyweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">light heavyweight or cruiserweight. "If Canelo's not fighting you, forget everybody else and go straight to Usyk," Jones said, per The Ring. "Don't play with anybody else. The Usyk fight is one of the biggest fights of this decade. Take it while it's hot."

Why Jones favors Usyk over Bivol and Opetaia

Benavidez stopped Gilberto Ramirez in six rounds last weekend to claim two cruiserweight belts and immediately called out Bivol, the reigning heavyweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">light heavyweight champion. Another name in the mix is Jai Opetaia, who dominated Brandon Glanton to win the inaugural Zuffa cruiserweight title but was stripped of his IBF belt. Jones argued that Opetaia carries similar danger to Usyk without the profile. "If you lose to Usyk, the Opetaia fight is still there," he said. "If you lose to Opetaia, the Usyk fight is gone. Why would you go play with a guy who's just as dangerous as Usyk but not as well-known as Usyk? That's kind of crazy."

Turki Alalshikh has said he wants Usyk against Benavidez in 2027 if the three-time undisputed champion beats Rico Verhoeven on May 23 in Egypt. Jones, who jumped from light heavyweight to heavyweight to beat John Ruiz in 2003, knows the risk of moving up but sees the reward as worth it now.

Benavidez holds a 32-0 record with 26 knockouts and ranks fifth on The Ring's pound-for-pound list. Usyk is unbeaten in 24 fights and scheduled to face Verhoeven at the Pyramids of Giza next month.

Source: ringmagazine.com