Benavidez to stay at light heavyweight

David Benavidez is the WBC mandatory challenger for the winner of Dmitry Bivol vs Artur Beterbiev

David Benavidez’s pursuit of Canelo Alvarez is over for the foreseeable future, as Sampson Boxing tells Mauricio Sulaiman that Benavidez will remain at light heavyweight and pursue the winner of Dmitry Bivol vs Artur Beterbiev.

Benavidez (29-0, 24 KO), whose two reigns as WBC super middleweight champion ended outside the ring thanks to a failed drug test and subsequent weight miss, had held the interim belt for more than two years. Sulaiman showed no indication that he’d ever order golden goose Alvarez to make a long-overdue mandatory defense, so it’s understandable that Benavidez would pack his bags and head somewhere with actual upward mobility.

That said, he has what’s likely an even more daunting task ahead of him. He came out flat in last month’s divisional debut against Oleksandr Gvozdyk and his path to the title will pit him against either one of the sport’s most brilliant technicians or arguably its most terrifying knockout artist. I suppose we’ll see soon enough whether he’s up to the task.