Benavidez’s plan B: Bivol or Beterbiev

David Benavidez and his father have big plans in mind for 2023. The Mexican Monster recently recorded the most important win of his career by defeating Caleb Plant via a unanimous decision in Las Vegas, which gave him the chance of thinking about big fights in the future.

Now, Jose Benavidez Sr says his son wants to fight light heavyweight champions Dmitry Bivol or Artur Beterbiev next if he can’t get a title shot against undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Álvarez.

In case the Guadalajara native doesn’t defend against his WBC mandatory, he could be stripped, but in case he’s not, Benavidez is thinking about going up to 175 lbs to face any of both Russian champions.

Bivol, the biggest menace

“We’re going to see Canelo get stripped if he doesn’t fight his mandatory. Hopefully, the WBC does the right thing, and they’re going to strip him because David is the mandatory fight,” said Benavidez Sr. to Fighthype.

“After Ryder, he’s supposed to fight David, and if he doesn’t fight David, I think he’s going to get stripped,” he added.

Asked about who could be his son’s most dangerous opponent at 175, Benavidez Sr was quite clear:

“I got to give it to Bivol because he throws more punches, he does more. Beterbiev is a guy that just hurts you with one punch”.

“You can see the skills, but I respect Beterbiev. He’s a world champion and deserves respect. But like I say, you can’t compare him to David or Bivol”, he stated.

It seems a real possibility that the undefeated Benavidez ends up fighting Bivol or Beterbiev eventually if Canelo prefers to duck The Mexican Monster.

However, Álvarez recently said he’s not afraid of anyone and he would have no issues accepting a fight against Benavidez.

Canelo is expected to defend his belts successfully against John Ryder in May but it’s unknown what’s going to happen after that.

The super middleweight’s picture may suffer some changes depending on what the Mexican decides to do, so boxing fans will probably have a clearer approach to what may happen in the division once Canelo fights the Brit in Guadalajara.