Boxing fans and critics clamoring for Canelo Alvarez to fight David Benavidez hasn’t panned out in a mega bout between the two just yet.
And Benavidez isn’t waiting around for the dream fight, either. The WBC interim light heavyweight world champion is laying out his blueprint for a stellar 2025, beginning with a February 1 unifying fight against David Morrell.
Defeating Morrell would give Benavidez the Cuban’s WBA “Regular” light heavyweight world title and inch him closer to his goal of becoming the undisputed ruler of the 175-pound division.
With undisputed light heavyweight king Artur Beterbiev set to renew his rivalry with Dmitry Bivol on February 22 in Saudi Arabia, Benavidez knows a highlight win over Morrell will put him in position to face the Beterbiev-Bivol rematch winner next. And the undefeated Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) is confident about his chances against either.
“I feel like I’d beat both of them,” Benavidez told DAZN News during a recent Zoom session, hunched over with his fingers interlocked in focus. “I know Bivol really well. I’ve sparred him a lot. I have a lot of respect for him.
“Just because I’ve sparred him, [I’m] not saying he’s an easy fighter or none of that,” he continued. “I know what I can do with him.”
Benavidez added: “I want to fight the best. I’ve had a lot of experience, so now, it’s just time to really push myself and go for greatness so that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
Of course, to get there, “El Monstro” can’t afford to suffer a setback against the undefeated Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs). The two had a heated exchange during their press conference last month, with Benavidez vowing to “break his mouth.”
But the verbal jabs aside, the two-time former super middleweight world champion expects Morrell to bring it in February.
“David Morrell is not going to be a pushover,” Benavidez said. “He’s going to come, he’s going to give me a good fight. That’s exactly what I’m looking for.
“I’m going to make this fight look easier than everyone thinks it is,” he continued. “I know David Morrell is a hard fighter, has good power but he’s never been in there with someone like me, a complete fighter.
“A fighter that could go 12 rounds, a fighter that doesn’t get gassed, a fighter with head movement, defense, combinations, that knows how to break people down and has a lot of power.”
It’s this caliber of self-confidence that has Benavidez moving on — albeit reluctantly — past Canelo’s refusal to fight, having learned from this experience as well.
In the case that he cannot set up a fight with the Beterbiev-Bivol 2 winner, Benavidez also told DAZN News that he’d be willing to move up to cruiserweight to challenge unified WBA/WBO world champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez.
“These,” he said with excitement, “are the challenges I want.”
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Sitting on camera, flashing a megawatt smile, Benavidez has come a long way.
His two separate reigns as super middleweight world champion didn’t end at the hands of any opponents, but by his own indiscretions, instead — once in the form of a positive drug test for a cocaine sample in September 2018 and the other time being overweight on the scale in August 2020.
But Benavidez didn’t wilt from those trying situations. He rebuilt.
He added notable former world champions such as David Lemieux, Caleb Plant, Demetrius Andrade, and Oleksandr Gvozyk to his list of victims, now on the brink of recording his 30 professional victory well before turning 30.
Along the way, we’re also seeing Benavidez build his fighter profile outside of the ring as well as the 27-year-old has shown a willingness to peel back the curtain to give his fans more of his personal life.
He has launched his “Benavidez Family” YouTube channel and recently relocated with his wife and two kids from Phoenix, Arizona to Miami, Florida.
There, he’s readying the launch of the EZBachi Japanese Grill franchise that he’s invested in.
“As soon as you taste the food, you can taste the quality,” Benavidez promises DAZN News. “I just love the food so much and I believe in the product so much. We’re going to hold off until after the [Morrell] fight because it’s going to require a lot of attention from me.”
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Benavidez wouldn’t be opposed to those out-the-box endeavors also including a role in the Creed movie franchise someday.
The franchise’s last offering, Creed III starring Michael B. Jordan in 2023, actually featured Benavidez’s brother, Jose Benavidez Jr., who took on the role as boxer Felix Chavez.
“Funny thing is, I don’t tell nobody but that role was supposed to go for me,” Benavidez reveals to DAZN News. “At that time, I was going to fight David Lemieux. It’s either I did that or do the boxing and at the end of the day, my career is more important to me than acting.
“So I asked the people if they could give my brother the opportunity and they did.”
But as time goes on, he’s more open to the idea.
“Definitely, I don’t think that’s out of the question,” he says. “Later in the future, that would definitely be a good move for us.
“There’s already a storyline.”
Meanwhile, Benavidez’s storyline continues to evolve, too — in the ring and personally.
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