‘The Monster’ David Benavidez is targeting a showdown with an unbeaten world champion in a new weight class.
The 28-year-old from Phoenix, Arizona currently reigns as the WBC Light-Heavyweight World Champion, having held the interim version of the title since last June when he defeated Ukraine’s Oleksandr Gvozdyk in his 175lb debut.
‘The Monster’ was elevated to full champion after former holder Dmitry Bivol opted to vacate the title to pursue a trilogy bout against Artur Beterbiev, which is expected to take place before the end of the year.
Benavidez has also held the WBC super-middleweight title on two separate occasions throughout his tenure, defeating the likes of Caleb Plant, Demetrius Andrade and Andre Dirrell during his campaign at 168lbs.
Whilst he prepares to make the maiden defence of his WBC crown, Benavidez has now expressed an interest in a showdown with another unbeaten world champion who has taken his division by storm over the last 12 to 18 months.
In a social media post, Benavidez responded to calls that have been made for him to clash with IBF world cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia, who has emerged as a dominant force in the 200lbs division in recent years.
“Let’s make this fight happen!”
Opetaia is unbeaten as a professional, defeating all 28 of his opponents with 22 of those victories coming inside the scheduled distance. He made the most recent defence of his IBF crown against Claudio Squeo on June 8, scoring a sixth round stoppage and breaking the challenger’s jaw in the process.
The 29-year-old Australian called out unified WBA and WBO world cruiserweight champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez just moments after he defeated Squeo, calling for a unification bout against the Mexican to finally be made next.
