David Benavidez passed his first test at 175 pounds as he produced a lopsided unanimous decision over Oleksandr Gvozdyk to win the interim WBC light heavyweight world title Saturday night in Las Vegas.
After the victory, the undefeated 27-year-old let it be known that he still wants to see his mandatory super middleweight world championship shot be granted against the 168-pound undisputed king, Canelo Alvarez.
Benavidez made those intentions clear with his latest call out of Alvarez.
"I want to make my own lane. That's why I came up to 175," Benavidez began telling reporters during the post-fight press conference inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
"I've been trying to get that fight with Canelo for a long, long time.
"As you can see, I got the star power now," he continued. "People love the way I fight and interact with me really well. That'd be a really big fight. I think everybody wins — the world of boxing wins, the fans win."
Then came his final plea.
"It's a fight that we got to get going on," he urged. "If he really believes that he's the best in the world, then come beat me and come shut me up. I'm going to keep showing you guys why I'm the 'Mexican Monster.'"
That being said, Benavidez plans to keep fighting in both divisions.
"I want to be that dominant fighter," he said, "that dominates both weight classes."
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