David Benavidez’s father, Jose Benavidez Sr., explained why the fighter has moved up to light heavyweight.
The super middleweight is now operating at 175lbs after a failure to make a fight with Canelo Alvarez, though he could come back down a division if there is an opponent that tempts him.
Canelo has decided to fight Jaime Munguia on May 4 to defend his super middleweight undisputed status, live on DAZN PPV.
Benavidez meanwhile is set to fight Oleksandr Gvozdyk in June.
Speaking to BoxingScene.com, Benavidez Sr. explained the move up.
“We moved up to 175 pounds to leave [Alvarez] behind us. We need to stay busy. We're looking at the winner of the Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol fight, and are ready to come back down to 168 pounds when we need to,” he said.
“We just want the opportunity against Canelo to show that David is the best.
“Once he does his job, the money will come.
“We're looking to make history and give fans exciting fights. We're being patient. I don’t think the fight is going to happen, but I’m being optimistic.”
Live on DAZN: Watch Dalton Smith vs. Jose Zepeda on March 23