Mandatory challenger David Benavidez has been pounding the table and begging to face Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.
But for now, he will have to settle for the next best thing: former sparring partner Oleksandr Gvozdyk (20-1, 16 KOs), who is managed by Mexican superstar Alvarez's lifelong best friend and coach, Eddy Reynoso.
Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs), a two-time super middleweight champion, will make his light heavyweight debut on Saturday with the WBC interim 175-pound title on the line and the winner could get a chance to face the winner of the upcoming title bout between undefeated Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev.
Typically, fighters try out a new weight class, but that's not the case for Benavidez, who is taking on Alvarez's teammate, the former 175-pound champion and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist.
“This fight came out of the blue. I never thought I'd be fighting him,” Gvozdyk told Boxing Scene. “Then all of a sudden this option was presented to me and I immediately accepted it. I signed the contract that same night. … It doesn't really matter to me whether Benavidez fights Canelo or not. It's his plan, but I have my plan.”
The 37-year-old Gvozdyk returned from a three-year retirement last year with wins over Isaac Rodriguez, Ricardo Bolotnics and Jose Obando, including two bouts on the undercard of Alvarez. Gvozdyk was previously trained by Teddy Atlas but is now trained by Marco Contreras.
According to DraftKings, Benavidez is the betting favorite at -650, while Gvozdyk is the underdog at +450.
“Well, they're confident, which is good,” Gvozdyk said. “They probably know what he's capable of, and I know what I'm capable of, so we'll see what happens. … I'm going to hit him and not get hit back.”
Gvozdyk knocked out Adonis Stevenson in 2018 before suffering the only loss of his career in 2019 when he was knocked out by Artur Beterbiev and hospitalized.
He then retired during the pandemic to pursue business opportunities in Ukraine, before finding it hard to resist the lure of the boxing ring, especially after serving as a sparring partner for Mexican boxer Canelo before his loss to Bivol in 2021.
“It was a misconception that I retired because of a serious injury,” Gvozdyk said. “I knew I would return one day so I kept myself in shape. I'm enjoying this stage of my career and I'm very happy to be in top physical condition, at 37, still young. This brings me joy.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He is also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Mixed Martial Arts Journalists Association. He can be reached at @ManoukAkopyan on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, or by email at manouk.[dot]Acopian[at]You can contact us at gmail.com or www.ManoukAkopyan.com
