David Benavidez wants to fight David Morrell Jr. if he becomes the Undisputed Light Heavyweight Champion.
The Mexican Monster has shifted his focus from facing Canelo Alvarez, who chose to box Jaime Munguia instead on May 4. That was a blow to Benavidez’s aim of becoming the Undisputed Super Middleweight Champion. He has been Alvarez’s WBC mandatory for over two years, but Canelo has no plans on making that fight. The WBC has also not stripped Canelo, removing any pressure on him to consider vacating.
Benavidez has responded by moving up to 175 pounds to box Oleksandr Gvozdyk for the WBC Interim Light Heavyweight Belt. That fight will take place on June 15. If Benavidez is victorious, he will be mandatory for the winner of Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. Betebiev and Bivol fight for the Undisputed Light Heavyweight Championship on June 1 in a battle of two undefeated fighters.
Morrell also decided to move up to 175 after struggling to get Alvarez. He will fight Radivoje Kalajdzic for the WBA ‘Regular’ Light Heavyweight Title on August 3. The fight takes place on the Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov card. It is the first time that Morrell and Benavidez are boxing at 175. If they come through their next opponents, Benavidez is ready for that fight.
Benavidez On Morrell
“So now that he’s coming up to 175, it’s a great opportunity. That fight is going to happen sooner or later. I see him coming up to 175, talking a lot…I’m going to shut…[him] up. Like I guaranteed the fans, that fight is going to have sooner or later. Also, it will be a bigger pay-per-view if we wait until later. His name is not that big. We’re at 175.
“I’m going to go with this next fight [Oleksandr Gvozdyk], and see what happens next, and then, like I’m telling you guys, this fight is going to happen sooner than later. If you look at the landscape with PBC, there’s really not that many guys at 175. So after this fight between me and Oleksandr, hopefully we get the fights for the unified at 175. That will probably be the first defense [of the undisputed light heavyweight championship], David Morrell,” Benavidez said
Those comments end hopes of a Canelo vs Benavidez. Alvarez wanted $150-200 million to make that fight, showing a sign that he was pricing himself out. Even the Saudis who can put that money up have no interest in doing that, as they wanted Benavidez to box the winner of Beterbiev and Bivol. That leaves Canelo without a big fight on the horizon, as he will focus on facing the other fighters in the 168 division.
Benavidez On Canelo
While he is a four-division champion who calls the shots, Canelo’s brand has been damaged by avoiding Benavidez. For the kick-off presser for the Munguia fight, the crowd were vocal in their support for Munguia. If Canelo still desires to be the face of boxing, he must fight the best. But Benavidez is looking elsewhere.
“He’s [Morrell] a really good fighter. I feel that the person I wanted to fight at 168 [is Canelo Alvarez], because I’m kind of already done with 168, because it’s harder for me to make it,” Benavidez stated
More must-reads: