Boxing Tonight: Benavidez Moves Up to Light Heavyweight in Pursuit of Undisputed Champion
As former super middleweight champion David Benavidez steps into the ring this Saturday against Oleksandr Gvozdyk, he’ll be making his first appearance as a full-fledged light heavyweight since his teenage years. This weight class shift marks a strategic move for the 27-year-old boxer, who has been frustrated by his inability to secure a highly anticipated showdown against undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez in the super middleweight division.
Benavidez, who has held the WBC interim super middleweight title for over two years, believes the time is right to conquer the 175-pound weight class. “I didn’t feel like there was any reason to stay at 168 any longer. My main goal was to win all the belts at 168. Canelo is holding all the belts hostage,” Benavidez said during a recent press conference.
The interim title has not provided Benavidez with the leverage he had hoped for to secure a fight against Canelo, who has repeatedly made it clear that he is not interested in facing the talented challenger, citing Benavidez’s significant weight fluctuations as a point of concern.
Undeterred, Benavidez is now setting his sights on the light heavyweight division, where he will compete for the WBC’s interim title against Gvozdyk. “After I win this fight, after I win the WBC interim title, it’s going to put me in position to fight for all the belts,” Benavidez told ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.
The move to light heavyweight presents a new challenge for Benavidez, but it also offers him a path to potentially become an undisputed champion in another weight class. With the current light heavyweight titleholder, Artur Beterbiev, scheduled to face Dmitry Bivol in October, the winner of that bout will become the undisputed champion, setting the stage for a potential showdown with Benavidez in early 2025 or later.
Despite the frustrations he has faced in his pursuit of Canelo, Benavidez remains optimistic about the future. “You have to have patience. I’ve put in all the groundwork. Last year was my first pay-per-view, and I’ve been a professional for 10 years. You have to have patience. I feel like I’ve got another 15 years left in me for this professional game, so I’ll make the second half of my career the best half.”
Benavidez’s fight against Gvozdyk will take place as the co-featured bout on the Gervonta Davis-Frank Martin pay-per-view event, available on Amazon’s Prime Video, PPV.com, and traditional cable and satellite providers.
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