David Benavidez has been urged to pursue a showdown with one unbeaten fighter in particular next.
‘The Mexican Monster’ extended his undefeated record to 31-0 on November 22 with an impressive seventh round stoppage victory over Britain’s Anthony Yarde at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The 28-year-old from Arizona has had an impressive start to his campaign at 175lbs where he currently holds the WBC light-heavyweight title, making the first defence of his crown against Yarde.
Whilst it was revealed shortly after his win over the Brit that he plans to face unified WBA and WBO world cruiserweight champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez next, Benavidez appears to have been urged to target a clash with another cruiserweight champion instead.
A number of fans have spoken out on social media recently and have called for ‘The Mexican Monster’ to pursue a showdown with IBF world cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia next, following the Australian’s win over Huseyin Cinkara on Saturday.
One fan posted: “Enjoyable fight, my real takeaway from today is that Jai Opetaia and Benavidez needs to happen.
Another was more vocal, as he said: “@Benavidez300 the man to beat is Opetaia. Nobody wants to see Zurdo. Ring; Lineal; number 1 guy is here. Call him out. Not that ducker an diver Zurdo. He’s an embarrassment to boxing. Everything that’s wrong with the sport. @Turki_alalshikh Jai vs. Benavidez next. Not Zurdo.”
Opetaia has established himself as arguably the number one ranked cruiserweight on the planet over the last 18 months, extending his unbeaten record to 29-0 with the aforementioned eighth round stoppage win over Germany’s Huseyin Cinkara.
