David Benavidez’s revelation of his past success sparring Dmitry Bivol may be why the newly crowned undisputed light heavyweight champion’s promoters aren’t eager to make that fight happen.
Instead, Bivol’s promoters are pushing for a fight against Canelo Alvarez or a trilogy with Artur Beterbiev. Matchroom promoter, Eddie Hearn, also mentioned Callum Smith as an option for Bivol to fight. Mentioning Smith rather than Benavidez tells you all you need to know. It’s protectionism at work.
Dmitry’s Options
– Artur Beterbiev – trilogy
– Canelo Alvarez – rematch
– Callum Smith
Benavidez’s Story
Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) says he trapped Bivol in the corner and “lit him up” with a “15-20” rapid-fire flurry that almost dropped him. He says that after the round ended, Team Bivol didn’t want him back for any more sparring. Benavidez’s combination punching and fearlessness are kryptonite for Bivol’s fighting style.
Unfortunately for Benavidez, he’s being treated like a pariah now, one of the untouchable class, tainted because he’s too risky, and would end the 34-year-old Bivol’s short reign as the four-belt 175-lb champion. The WBC did rule this week that Bivol must defend against Benavidez next, but their ruling has no teeth.
Even if they attempted to force it, Bivol would likely vacate the belt. They would first try to work a step-aside deal with Benavidez, but if he refused, the belt would surely be vacated. However, it’s hard to believe the WBC would enforce their ruling.
Bivol defeated Artur Beterbiev by a 12-round majority decision in their rematch last Saturday, February 22nd in Riyadh. Bivol won because Beterbiev let his foot off the accelerator after getting the better of the action from rounds three to six. It looked like Artur, 40, got tired, allowing Bivol to control the action by default because he wasn’t pulling the trigger on his punches.
“Yeah, I almost dropped him, and I’m not lying. I don’t have to lie about anything. There were a lot of people there who had seen the sparring,” said David Benavidez on X, when asked if it’s true that he was ‘beating up’ Dmitry Bivol in sparring. “It was a great sparring session.
“I sparred Bivol a couple of times, but the last time I sparred him, I almost dropped him,” Benavidez continued. “I had caught him into the corner. We had four rounds, and this was in the last 20 seconds. I lit his a** up with 15-20 shots. I’m not lying about that at all, but after the round ended, they said they didn’t want to spar anymore.”
Last Updated on 02/28/2025