A GROWING LEGACY
my entire boxing career, to spar with them and eventually to fight them. “I got tired of chasing Canelo for years, waiting for him to fight me. I’ve passed him. He’s a great fighter, an all-time great fighter, though on the down side of his career. He wants no part of me, and I can understand why, because I would destroy him. Fighters like Canelo have avoided me for years. Now everyone wants to fight me, and my attitude has not changed: I want to fight everyone.” Here’s a look at the choices that Benavidez, currently The Ring’s No. 1-rated cruiserweight and light heavyweight, has ahead in 2026 and beyond:
I’m working on it now in May, which gives me plenty of time to prepare for Bivol. “He’s a great fighter. And this would be a great fight, more so for the history one of us would make as the undisputed light heavyweight champion of the world. I don’t care about the money. I care about creating a legacy and making myself the best in the
He said he was stuffing himself to try and maintain 210 pounds during training camp. He has a much better understanding of how to properly drop weight, he stressed, than he did a few years ago. “I stepped up 25 pounds to take on Ramirez, and that put a lot on my plate,” Benavidez said. “Facing Bivol is an even bigger plate. He is a great fighter. He does so many things well. But Ramirez brought the best out of me. The best is still in there.” And in fact, Benavidez stopped Ramirez while
Bivol did not (granted, it was an older version of Zurdo). Though dominant, Bivol was unable to put the habitually tough Mexican down in winning a lopsided unanimous decision in November 2022. “We want to make that fight, and we are in the hunt for whoever wants to go first,” said Jose Benavidez Sr., David’s father and trainer. “We wanted to fight Bivol before we fought [Anthony] Yarde [in November 2025]. David wants fights for the people. We are trying. Bivol is going to win his May fight. Fighting Bivol, our team agrees, is the best fight for us. But before the Yarde fight, the WBC made the Bivol fight a mandatory, and Bivol didn’t want to fight us.” David said he would look at an October or November date in Las Vegas, if he and Bivol can make it happen.
has all of that, and I’m not just saying that because I’m his father. “Opetaia gets hurt, and he looked tired and boring in his last fight (a unanimous decision over Brandon Glanton in March 2026).” Said David: “If I were to stay at cruiserweight [...] I like that fight, because people think he can beat me. Bivol deserves the first fight, but if I can’t get that, it would be Opetaia. But let’s call the new WBC cruiserweight champion (Noel Mikaelian) Plan B1. I want to unify. “It would add another belt if Opetaia wants no part of me. Please emphasize this: I went up 25 pounds and stopped a two-belt champion. I didn’t give myself that much credit, but I stopped Ramirez in six rounds, and when I looked back at it, I deserve to be among the best. The problem with the Opetaia fight is what kind of a gate would that draw? It would be all on me to carry the marketing for that fight. People want to be entertained. I entertain. Opetaia doesn’t. “If I fought Bivol later in 2026, this is a fight – whether it is Opetaia or Mikaelian – that would not come until possibly early 2027.”
“It’s a fight I want,” Jose said. “It’s a super dangerous fight. We didn’t change anything for David in his training from light heavyweight to cruiserweight. He’s disciplined. He’s entering his prime. I want to talk to Turki Alalshikh. He wants to do the fight, let’s sit down and make it happen. David and I think big risks bring big rewards. I think Usyk is the best fighter in the world. “But that fight may have to take place closer to cruiserweight, because going up to heavyweight is too big. David had trouble staying at 200 pounds.” David himself would not mind taking on Usyk, and he says he would not mind adding the weight to do it. The obstacle will be how much time Usyk’s team is willing to give, because David said he would need a year, meaning sometime in mid-2027, to fight Usyk. “I would need at least a year to properly add the weight to get stronger,” David said. “Usyk is the best heavyweight in the world. I would be willing to do it. But would Usyk and his people be willing to wait a year for me to gain the weight? I feel I can carry my power to heavyweight. Usyk is a technician, but Usyk does not have my hand speed. He does not know how competitive I am. “He knows what he is doing. I have the ultimate respect for him. But I believe in myself. I know I can beat him. Even if I don’t beat him, it would be a win-win for me. I’m chasing greatness. No one would expect me to win, and if he beats me and it’s a great fight, I win, because fans would see my heart and competitiveness. Usyk is one of the greatest fighters of all time. If I beat him, I would be considered one of the greatest fighters of all time. That’s my ultimate goal.” If any of Benavidez’s choices come to fruition – and he wins – he will have a good start toward that destination.
world. That means beating the best in the world.” Benavidez came in at 196 for Ramirez and weighed 202 on fight night.
Dmitry Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs), unified Ring Magazine light heavyweight champion This seems the best possibility, according to Benavidez, who also holds the WBC 175-pound title, and Bivol is the fighter he wants the most. At press time, Bivol still had to get by IBF mandatory challenger Michael Eifert on May 30, but The Ring’s No. 6 pound-for-pound entrant was expected to do so easily. Benavidez, one place ahead of Bivol in P4P ratings at No. 5, said he would be looking at a fall date for that fight. “I’m training for him already,” Benavidez said. “This is the fight that we are trying to get and looking at right now. I have to wait for Bivol to fight his fight. I have no problem getting back down to 175.
Jai Opetaia (30-0, 23 KOs), Ring Magazine cruiserweight champion Opetaia is Plan B behind Bivol, says David, but Team Benavidez isn’t impressed. “What does he do well? Does he do anything great?” asked Jose. “We want fights for the people. I even went to Opetaia’s people and they didn’t respond, while Opetaia is running around telling everyone David is running from him. Opetaia has nothing in comparison to what David has. Does David have a good jab? Does he possess a great uppercut? Does he have speed? He
Oleksandr Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs), unified Ring Magazine heavyweight champion Bivol is the most probable fight in Benavidez’s future, and Opetaia is a good alternative if that falls through, but a showdown with Usyk is more lucrative and more intriguing than either option.
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