Oscar De La Hoya has named a fighter that he believes can get the better of Dmitry Bivol.
The 34-year-old from Russia achieved his career-long dream of becoming the undisputed light-heavyweight champion back in February, defeating countryman Artur Beterbiev via majority decision in their rematch.
He had remained unbeaten up until he faced Beterbiev in their first encounter last October, suffering a majority decision defeat in a closely fought contest which could have quite easily gone either way.
Whilst Bivol is one of the best technical boxers on the planet, legendary fighter-turned-promoter De La Hoya has backed another fighter to defeat the Russian great.
Talking to Fight Hub TV, ‘The Golden Boy’ picked reigning WBC light-heavyweight champion David Benavidez should a clash between the pair materialise in the future.
“That’s a tough one. I would go with Benavidez because he’s more active and throws more punches and has better footwork than Beterbiev. He’s smarter up there and knows how to think and how to adjust. I would favour Benavidez.”
After Bivol opted to vacate his WBC 175lbs title earlier this year in order to seemingly target a trilogy with Beterbiev, Benavidez was elevated to full champion having held the interim version since he defeated Ukraine’s Oleksandr Gvozdyk last year.
The unbeaten 28-year-old from Phoenix, Arizona is set to make the maiden defence of his crown against Britain’s Anthony Yarde at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on November 22.
