David Benavidez has been called out to take on a reigning world champion in a new division.
Benavidez is the current WBC light heavyweight champion, having been elevated from interim champion earlier this year after Dmitry Bivol vacated his belt in order to target a trilogy contest with Artur Beterbiev.
‘The Mexican Monster’ will make the first defence of his title on November 22 when he takes on Anthony Yarde in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but it seems another big name is already targeting a showdown with Benavidez.
Speaking to FightHype, current IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia discussed his future plans, which begins with a mandatory defence against Huseyin Cinkara in December and he hopes it will culminate in a clash against Benavidez.
“6th December we’ll take care of business. I’ve messaged Badou Jack personally myself and he said he wants the fight. We’ve got to take care of our mandatories and we’ll fight. There’s a game plan there.
“Badou Jack, which is a hard fight, win that, then Zurdo Ramirez, win that, then Saudi want Benavidez to come up to cruiserweight and we fight him. If that’s the course, let’s f**king do it. I’d love to fight him. He’s a great fighter, he’s got a great following, he’s been in the ring with some great fighters.”
Opetaia is unbeaten in his career to date, putting together a record of 28-0, with 22 of those victories coming by knockout. He isn’t the only world champion to be linked with a clash against Benavidez, with Terence Crawford’s name also put forward by fans.
