David Benavidez is in line to face the winner of the rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
Benavidez reaffirmed his status as one of the best 175lb fighters in the world when he defeated David Morrell by unanimous decision on Saturday, retaining his WBC interim light-heavyweight title and winning the WBA regular belt in the process.
That victory has made him the mandatory challenger for the WBC title, which will once again be contested in the rematch for undisputed status between Beterbiev and Bivol on February 22,
It was Beterbiev who was victorious in their first meeting back in October, defeating Bivol by majority decision to add the WBA belt to his WBC, WBO and IBF collection.
With a potential bout against the winner of this month’s rematch on the horizon, Benavidez was asked during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show who he would prefer to face between Beterbiev and Bivol.
“I would pick Bivol because Bivol beat Canelo. When I beat Bivol, that’ll make my case that I’m better than Canelo.”
Bivol defeated Canelo Alvarez back in May 2022, winning the fight by unanimous decision after Canelo had moved back up to 175lbs in search of another world title.
Since that loss, Canelo has remained at super-middleweight, where Benavidez had hoped of securing a showdown against the Mexican superstar, but despite several years of callouts, the fight never materialised.
While Benavidez insists he has moved on from wanting to take on Alvarez, he has revealed the details surrounding how much Canelo turned down to fight him last year.
