David Benavidez could be on the verge of finalising a deal to face a reigning world champion at a brand new weight class.
Known as ‘The Mexican Monster’, Benavidez remains unbeaten as a professional since his debut back in 2013, winning world titles in two weight divisions along the way.
After a successful campaign at super-middleweight, where he held the WBC world title twice in the space of three years, he made the move up to light-heavyweight last year, defeating Ukraine’s Oleksandr Gvozdyk to capture the WBC interim title at 175lbs.
After Dmitry Bivol opted to vacate the WBC light-heavyweight title back in April. Benavidez was subsequently elevated to full world champion. He is set to make the first defence of his crown against Britain’s Anthony Yarde on Saturday November 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
As he prepares to take the light-heavyweight division by storm, Benavidez revealed in an interview with ESNEWS that he could actually make the move up to cruiserweight at some stage in the near future, hinting at a potential showdown between himself and unified cruiserweight champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez.
“Yeah the fight with me and Zurdo, that could happen soon … The one with Zurdo is probably gonna happen soon.”
‘Zurdo’ Ramirez currently reigns as the unified WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion, making the most recent defence of his crown against Cuba’s Yuniel Dorticos on June 28 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Whilst he could be tempted by a potential clash with Benavidez at some stage, the 34-year-old from Mexico remains keen on securing a unification fight with Australia’s Jai Opetaia, who currently holds the IBF world cruiserweight title.
