Around The Curve: David Benavidez vs Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol Winner?

Benavidez had a massive 2023 as he defeated Caleb Plant by decision in March and stopped Demetrius Andrade in November. All the comments made by Canelo last year about Benavidez were that he needed to beat big-name opponents to ever have a shot at fighting him. Benavidez did that and in a convincing manner but yet, a fight with the division’s undisputed king seems further away than ever. It begs the question of what Benavidez will do now that it appears as if Canelo isn’t trying to face him anytime soon.

Should Benavidez stay busy at 168 or make the move to 175 now?

There is no question that Benavidez’s days at super middleweight are numbered. He told FightsATW in the summer that he had two fights at most, hoping one of those would be against Canelo. Sources have disclosed to FightsATW that the plan right now is to get Benavidez back to action in the next couple of months against a top-ten contender. When looking at the calendar, the only fighters with a name that would be available for a fight are Jaime Munguia, Christian Mbilli & Vladamir Shishkin. The Munguia fight would be great, but sources have told FIghtsATW that Munguia’s team has turned down that fight, which leaves Mbilli and Shishkin. The Mbilli fight would be an all-out war for as long as it lasts and would make for good programming.

If Benavidez isn’t going to get the Canelo fight, then a move to light heavyweight right now would make the most sense, which means getting in the ring with a former champion like Callum Smith, which Matthew Aguilar suggested on X. That move would then set up Benavidez to face the winner of Artur Beterbiev & Dmitry Bivol toward the end of the year or early next year, which is a fight that would definitely get the attention of Turki Alalshikh. FightsATW has been told that we haven’t seen the best of Benavidez at 168, and the move to 175 would show his full potential. A fight between Benavidez and the winner between Beterbiev & Bivol has “super-fight” written all over it. Look for that route to be taken if Benavidez is given a solid confirmation that Canelo won’t ever face him.

Don’t be surprised if the next mega fight for Benavidez is at light heavyweight instead of super middleweight. It would be more of a natural weight class for him and less of a weight cut for a 27-year-old, 6’ 2” fighter. Are you interested in seeing Benavidez face the winner of Beterbiev and Bivol? The answer is likely yes, so let’s hope Benavidez starts to head in that direction.