David Benavidez will probably need to fight again to stay fit while waiting for his chance to fight the winner of the October 12th between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
Benavidez's Long Wait for a Big Payday
It is too early to know if the Beterbiev-Bivol fight will take place on that date because there has already been one injury-related postponement, and it is still two months before October.
One of them might get injured in the camp. Also, there could be a repeat, which could take years to play due to possible injuries.
Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) has fought just once at light heavyweight, defeating former WBC champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June 15 in a 12-round unanimous decision fight in which he was shot after six rounds.
The victory earned Benavidez the interim WBC 175-lb title and made him a challenger for Beterbiev's title in that organization. However, Benavidez looked weak in the fight and had nothing left after six rounds. It looked like a draw, but the Nevada judges gave Benavidez a twelve-round wide decision.
Potential Objectors
It's important that Benavidez doesn't just sit out a year, wait for the payday fight against Beterbiev-Bivol, and instead focus on getting more experience at 175 against one or two of these fighters:
– David Morrell
– Osleys Iglesias: *168-pounder
– Joshua Buatsi
– Willy Hutchinson
– Anthony Yarde
– Ben Whittaker
– Callum Smith
“Getting to this fight is difficult when it's like this [October 12th] in fact it will be a date, and whoever wins [Beterbiev vs. Bivol] fight, they'll be back soon?” said Chris Algieri on Probox TV's YouTube channel about whether David Benavidez will get a chance to fight the winner of the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bigol fight on October 12.
Benavidez should have already planned the fight instead of sitting out the win in June. He and his managers should have known that Bivol and Beterbiev were older fighters, and the chances of one getting injured were high.
“Benavidez may have a clue of the winner in that fight if there is no rematch, this could go on for a long time,” said Malignaggi. “I think of him [Benavidez] they have to stay busy in the light heavyweight division, which is a very deep division with a lot of talented guys there.”
Financial Benefits
It doesn't matter if Benavidez has an inside track. There are still a lot of unknowns involved in the Beterbiev vs. Bivol, such as delayed injury and recurrence. It is almost a given that there will be a second battle between them.
Benavidez looked terrible against Gvozdyk, showing that his strength and stamina are not the same, he should have started the fight. Willy Hutchinson would be a good option for Benavidez to stay busy, and if not, Morrell or Osleys Iglesias.
“[Joshua] Buatsi is fighting [Willy] Hutchinson. He fought Craig Richards [on June 1st in Riyadh and won a twelve-round decision],” said Malignaggi. “He [Hutchinson] I was very impressed. I had never seen him before. There are many talented guys who could fight Benavidez waiting for the winner of the fight between Beterbiev and Bivol to be decided.”
It is questionable whether Benavidez would want to fight any of those fighters. Benavidez is already locked in on the payday against the winner of Beterbiev-Bivol, and there's a lot of money to be made fighting whoever comes out of that fight as the winner.
“If Bivol and Beterbiev are going to fight, you think Benavidez will fight again before he fights the winner,” said Paulie Malignaggi. “I would like to see Benavidez fight at light heavyweight again to get a gauge to see where he is at.”
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