By Boxing News – 03/26/2024 – Comment
by J. Sotomayor: Oleksandr Gvozdyk (20-1, 16 KOs) will fight David Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs) in a light heavyweight title eliminator this summer.
It's not a game that the majority of fans want to see, but we'll have to compromise there and that's fine with me. I don't think we fans know everything about what's going on behind the scenes, but no matter how you take it, this fight will garner more attention. The winner of this fight will face the winner of Artur Beterbiev and Dimitri Bivol.
While waiting for Canelo's superfight, Benavidez defeated a solid opponent and set himself a 168 point, a real danger for Canelo. I don't want to speculate on excuses or reasons for not fighting. Looking at the body of work Benavidez has put together and the review of Gvozdyk's last few fights, I believe Benavidez will stop Gvozdyk in the middle rounds. Considering Benavidez doesn't need to deplete his strength any further, I think he'll do a good job of utilizing his power. This is a win-win situation for Benavidez. He knocked out Gvozdyk. He will have a chance at the undisputed championship in the winter.
But let's look at it from another perspective. Benavidez is currently struggling to get to 168. He'll go up to 175, but let's leave Canelo a chance. Unfortunately, this means he will have to rehydrate once again to get to 168, and likely has to accept a rehydration clause for the Canelo fight. This will almost certainly be included in the contract. This is why I believe Canelo set this up with his own stable of fighters, you go up to him and wait and try to get his weight back to 168 which he struggled with for years. did. This will be a tough task for Benavidez. He might take a chance and risk everything to do just that. Only time will tell how this all unfolded. But there's no doubt that this summer we're in a situation that could be described by the expression “slobber knockers.”
Gvozdyk stands only a puncher's chance. He is brave in defeat, but he will meet the same fate as against Beterbiev.
