“I’m no longer interested in Bivol-Benavidez, and I’m not going to bid for it,” said His Excellency Turki Alalshikh when asked about the potential matchup between David Benavidez and Dmitry Bivol. His remarks followed WBC’s instructions. The Mexico City-based sanctioning body told Bivol to defend his undisputed title from ‘The Mexican Monster.’
Already an interim WBC champion, on February 1, David Benavidez handed a decisive defeat to David Morrell. The triumph earned him the WBA (regular) title and the mandatory challenge. With Bivol taking over the crown from Artur Beterbiev, a direct confrontation with Benavidez appeared on the horizon. However, given Turki Alalshikh’s stand and promoters Sampson Lewkowicz and Eddie Hearn expressing doubts, the fate of the mega fight hangs in the balance. But David Benavidez remains hopeful.
David Benavidez on Dmitry Bivol fight: The possibility still exists
DAZN’s Patricia Duong caught up with David Benavidez in Hollywood, Florida. The Phoenix, Arizona-born fighter had come to watch the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC70). The conversation began with Jake Paul‘s now-viral call-out to Anthony Joshua. According to Benavidez, who recently joined ‘The Problem Child’ on his podcast ‘BS w/ Jake Paul,‘ given Paul’s superstardom and Joshua’s status as a former champion and one of boxing’s biggest draws, ‘that would be a huge fight for boxing.’
PHILADELPHIA, PA – AUGUST 05: David Benavidez celebrates after defeating Denis Douglin during a super middleweight fight at 2300 Arena on August 5, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
The next question followed. “You were in the talks with Bivol. What are your thoughts on that? Is it in the works, and when is it happening?” asked Patricia Duong. “So right now we’re trying to negotiate the fight; it might be in the works for September,” Benavidez clarified.
However, he couldn’t hide his apprehensions either. “But we don’t know. You know everything in boxing is not 100%, so we’re just going to keep trying to negotiate the fight, and if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. But that’s the one we’re trying to make happen,” he added.
The challenges along the way
But Benavidez’s optimism could be at odds with his promoter’s sentiments. Following Sebastian Fundora’s resounding win, when asked about the Benavidez-Bivol matchup, Sampson Lewkowicz said that Benavidez won’t fight unless it’s for the full WBC title. According to him, ‘The Mexican Monster’ deserves it. “He would not fight without a full title from the WBC; he deserves it, and if Bivol doesn’t take the fight, I recommend to give up the title before April 8th as a gentleman,” stated Lewkowicz.
LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 24: Fighter David Benavidez in the ring during a media workout at LA Live on September 24, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
Negating any possibility of a personal visit to Saudi Arabia, where the fight with Bivol, if it makes it through, could occur, Lewkowicz nevertheless pinned his hopes on a matchup with new WBO interim title holder Callum Smith and ‘many others.’ On the ‘Last Crescendo,’ following a closely contested duel with Joshua Buatsi, the British light heavyweight seemingly infused new life into his career.
More so, speaking with FightHype, Bivol’s promoter Eddie Hearn, in a way, sealed the fate of the Benavidez-Bivol showdown. While not ruling it out completely, he nevertheless endorsed what Turki Alalshikh had been advocating, a trilogy fight between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. “If he wants us to fight Benavidez, we’ll fight Benavidez. My gut feeling is he’ll want to make the [Beterbiev] trilogy,” said the Matchroom boss.
What are your thoughts? Will the Bivol fight follow in the footsteps of the Canelo fight for David Benavidez?
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