An impatient David Benavidez may choose to move up to cruiserweight to challenge WBA and WBO champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez for his two belts if he can’t get a straight crack at the winner of the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 rematch on February 22nd.
Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) still must beat WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight champion David Morrell in their 50-50 fight this Saturday, February 1st, in Las Vegas. ‘The Mexican Monster’ certainly has the size to fight at cruiserweight, walking around in the 200s and blowing up to near that weight for his light heavyweight fights.
He’s been massive since he fought at 168, and some fans question why he stayed so many years in this weight class rather than move up to 175 or 200. The only conclusion you can reach is that Benavidez wanted to get over by being bigger than his opposition to have success that he wouldn’t have had if he fought in either of those weight classes his entire career.
Benavidez’s Impatience
Jose Benavidez Sr. revealed recently that his son, David Benavidez, will move up to cruiserweight to challenge Gilberto Ramirez for his two belts if he can’t get an immediate title shot against the Beterbiev-Bivol 2 winner. He’s tired of waiting for a mega-payday after being ignored by unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez for years.
Although Benavidez is fighting for a world title against WBA champion Morrell, he wants the big payday fights, and he can only get that by fighting for the undisputed championship at light heavyweight against the Beterbiev vs. Bivol II winner or against Zurdo Ramirez. Morrell won’t bring the kind of money that Benavidez can get in those other fights, but he brings plenty risk.
It’s not a good idea for Benavidez to move up to cruiserweight if he chooses to return to the 175-lb division at some point because if he defeats Zurdo, there will be intense pressure on him to face IBF champion Jai Opetaia.
That guy would feast on Benavidez’s fighting style and likely knock him out. Benavidez isn’t the type to handle getting beaten, and he would insist on a rematch. It could be two years before Benavidez returns to the 175-lb division after three to four fights at cruiserweight.
“I asked him if he had a contingency plan in place if, for any reason, the Beterbiev-Bivol winner was unavailable (injury, trilogy, etc). This would be his choice IF he still didn’t get “guaranteed” LHW title shot,” said Jake Donovan on X about why David Benavidez would choose to move up to cruiserweight to challenge WBA and WBO champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez if he successfully defeats WBA ‘regular’ light Heavyweight champion David Morrell this Saturday night.