As an excellent middleweight, David Benavidez earned however by no means acquired the true “massive struggle” on the weight, which might have been a shot at Canelo Alvarez.
As a lot as somebody can in boxing — a sport that works in contrast to every other when it comes to event-to-event and profession development — Benavidez did every part potential to land the struggle with Canelo, and whereas Canelo may very well be seen as technically appropriate that Benavidez didn’t have some enormous fan base and hadn’t been any prime fighters, the concept breaks down a bit compared to Canelo’s precise selections.
What had Jaime Munguia or Edgar Berlanga, Canelo’s two opponents in 2024, finished that Benavidez hadn’t? Did Munguia actually deliver some unimaginable quantity extra followers to the struggle than Benavidez might have? Berlanga actually didn’t. And neither of them had fairly nearly as good a resume as Benavidez, a multiple-time titleholder.
Benavidez has had rocky occasions in his profession. He’s been stripped of world titles twice, as soon as for testing constructive for cocaine, as soon as for lacking weight within the 2020 “bubble,” however he has realized, he has matured, he has grown. He isn’t the identical man he was just a few years in the past, and he’s additionally not the identical fighter.
Now two fights into his marketing campaign as a light-weight heavyweight, Benavidez (30-0, 24 KO) is coming off of a robust win over David Morrell Jr, coming off the canvas to earn the choice win over 12 rounds. The 28-year-old isn’t going to show his sights again to Canelo, who’s lined as much as face Terence “Bud” Crawford in September, so the search for the elusive Huge Battle ought to now be Benavidez trying to land a bout with the winner of the Feb. 22 rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
That may very well be robust, after all. As a lot as boxing is beginning to consolidate, for higher or worse, beneath Turki Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season banner, there are nonetheless outliers, and the most important of the lot is Premier Boxing Champions, for whom Benavidez has been a loyal soldier for a few years.
Benavidez might actually get the struggle; this isn’t like earlier than, and if Alalshikh is prepared to pay, we’ve seen PBC is prepared to ship fighters over for playing cards. However their very own take care of Amazon’s Prime Video is already nearly pay-per-view unique and operating dangerously low on star energy, and it frankly looks like only a matter of time earlier than PBC’s names transfer to the Riyadh group, together with prime gamers like Benavidez and Gervonta “Tank” Davis.
Benavidez particularly appears possible as a result of we all know he needs the most important fights and isn’t in any respect afraid to check himself and take the onerous highway if needed; if he have been, he wouldn’t have fought the damaging Morrell, whose personal identify worth was comparatively fairly low for a PPV predominant occasion struggle.
Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KO) and Bivol (23-1, 12 KO) is probably not obtainable this 12 months, although. If Bivol wins the rematch, which is solely potential, a rubber match between the 2 might occur later in 2025. If Beterbiev wins once more, there actually is each probability he would possibly think about hanging up the gloves at age 40, having finished just about every part he might have got down to do as knowledgeable boxer. His harm historical past contributes to these odds, too — if Beterbiev goes 2-0 towards Bivol, a wonderful fighter, and has confirmed himself so clearly because the undisputed champ, will he wish to maintain pushing it till his physique lastly betrays him throughout a struggle as a substitute of between?
Benavidez does have time, although he’s absolutely uninterested in ready round for that marquee name. The larger query would be the time and need of Beterbiev or Bivol rising from their rivalry, whether or not it’s two fights or three.
And if it’s neither of them, it might merely wind up a division there for Benavidez to take over, piece-by-piece, type of the way in which we noticed Terence Crawford do at welterweight, having by no means taken the torch from the prior prime star, Floyd Mayweather.
Within the meantime, David Benavidez has merely continued to show himself a viable prime fighter with star high quality if not but star alternative. Both he’ll get that probability and attempt to take it by pressure, or he’ll have to only maintain constructing struggle to struggle. At this stage, don’t doubt his skill to do it in some way.
