The last time fans saw David Benavidez in the ring was in February this year. A sizeable crowd had gathered at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to witness the high-intensity clash between him and David Morrell. Defending his interim title as well as his undefeated record, the 30-0 boxer managed to also clinch the Cuban’s WBA [Regular] light heavyweight title. But then what? While he climbed to the spot of becoming a mandatory challenger for the division’s new undisputed champion, Dimitry Bivol, the latter just chose to vacate his WBC title instead of fighting Benavidez.
Bivol didn’t do it for no reason. It was the only choice he had so that he could continue his trilogy fight with Artur Beterbiev. If Beterbiev had won the rematch. His Excellency Turki Alalshikh was all too eager to orchestrate a bout between Benavidez and Beterbiev. Alas, fate had other plans. Now, the 28-year-old has admitted to the hosts of Pound 4 Pound podcast, Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo, that he turned down a lucrative offer from HE Turki Alalshikh to fight at Alcatraz, of all places.
For those who may not know, Alcatraz is a now-defunct maximum-security federal prison situated on Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay that was operational from 1934 to 1963. The prison housed some of the most notorious criminals, including Al Capone, Robert Stroud (the Birdman of Alcatraz), and George ‘Machine Gun’ Kelly. The prison has been shut down but remains a popular tourist spot, managed by the National Park Service.
The topic came up when Usman ended up asking David Benavidez how it was meeting His Excellency in February last year, when the latter had come to the 28-year-old expressing interest in a future fight with the winner of Beterbiev-Bivol. First acknowledging that it was good to meet Alalshikh and Oleksandr Usyk, David Benavidez mentioned another offer he had made. “The thing about Turki is that he kept telling me that he wanted me to fight in June in Alcatraz. And I’m like, really? In Alcatraz? The jail? Like, I’m not really trying to do that,” Benavidez said. To that, Usman burst out laughing, joined by Cejudo. You see, during the press for the Fatal Fury in Times Square event that happened in New York, Alalshikh, back in February, had revealed his intentions to host a boxing event on the island of Alcatraz.
Instantly after the statement, the odd location of a former federal prison drew substantial attention from both fans and boxing insiders. And why wouldn’t it? And just like the Times Square event, which had only 100-300 VIP guests coming to watch the event, even this one was going to be the same, considering the unique and crowd-unfriendly location. That was exactly why Benavidez turned down the offer.
Explaining his preferences for fights in full view of fans, the Mexican Monster commented plainly, “What takes away from the sport is if you’re having fights at a certain place—Alcatraz, Times Square—you’re now, you’re taking away the fans to go see who’s going to go… For me, as a fighter, bro, I don’t want to fight no Alcatraz.” Usman tried to counter that for a while, but finally gave in. “Bro, just the fight week. You see the fans, fans riled up, you’re going to the fight, you see all the fans…You come out, you do the ring walk, people are going crazy. There’s nothing like that, bro,” Benavidez said when Usman asked if a venue like T-Mobile Arena was something he’d prefer over Alcatraz.
“I like feeling the energy from the crowd…When you feel the energy, you f**king hit somebody with a big shot—ah! Everybody goes crazy. You knock somebody off, you get up, you get on the ring, you know what I mean? You get on the side and you feel like ‘the man’. You know, there’s nothing like that,” David Benavidez explained. So, what now? If Benavidez wants to fight elite opponents but turns down bigger events, who will he pick to be his next opponent?
David Benavidez’s short list of potential opponents
In the same podcast, nearly 36 minutes into the conversation, Usman asked what the Phoenix native is planning next for his career, now that he’s defeated Morrell. He noted that Bivol and Alvarez are obviously occupied with their own respective fights. So, for now, that is not an option. Instantly responding back, Benavidez dropped in two names he might challenge next. “So right now, uh, we’re thinking about either Callum Smith or Anthony Yarde. Obviously, those are the two top guys in that division. More likely Callum Smith,” he admitted.
Also mentioning why Smith would be a good choice for an opponent, Benavidez continued with excitement, “He fought Canelo, and then he just fought when we were at the Beterbiev card. He won a WBO interim title…We’re kind of thinking about making that fight happen here in the U.S…That’s also going to put me one step closer to fight these guys [Canelo and Bivol], because I have the WBA—I’m the world champion at WBC—and then after I beat Callum Smith, I’ll have the WBO.“
Becoming a mandatory challenger by holding the WBC title, the WBA [Regular] champion status, and the WBO interim title would make Benavidez a mandatory challenger for Dimitry Bivol once again. And this time around, the Russian boxer would already be done with the Beterbiev fight, making it hard to ignore David Benavidez. Wrapping up with that very thought, The Bandera Roja stated, “If they don’t fight me after that, then there’s not really much to say, you know what I mean?“
So, it looks like the frustration of top fighters possibly ducking him has led him to channel it into fighting other boxers and moving up the divisional ladder even more. Clearing out every other name would make him the only best contender left at 175 lbs. What do you think about that?
The post David Benavidez Admits Turning Down Turki Alalshikh’s Big Plans as Hunt for Next Opponent Continues appeared first on EssentiallySports.