David Benavidez decided to end the waiting game on Tuesday, informing the World Boxing Council that he would cede his mandatory super middleweight title to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, but retain the mandatory light heavyweight title.
With Alvarez gearing up for a Sept. 14 bout against Edgar Berlanga, Benavidez's promoter, Sampson Lewkovic, told BoxingScene on Tuesday that Benavidez has received assurances from WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman that he will face the winner of an Oct. 12 light heavyweight title fight between three-belt champion Artur Beterbiev and fellow unbeaten Russian WBA titleholder Dmitry Bivol.
Lewkowicz said Benavidez will face a non-champion in December.
Benavidez then plans to stage an undefeated 175-pound title fight during a significant boxing weekend in Las Vegas to take over the Cinco de Mayo weekend card that Alvarez has held for years.
The guarantee of a title fight is something Sulaiman was unable to give Benavidez (29-0, 24 knockouts) over Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 knockouts), the unbeaten super middleweight champion from Mexico.
Four-division champion Alvarez, 34, said he would not fight Benavidez, 27, for less than $150 million, and Sulaiman refused to strip the big-earning Alvarez of his belts.
This is despite the fact that the Phoenix-born boxer had to wait more than two years to become the WBC's No. 1 contender and despite his status as a former titleholder in the weight class, which he proved with wins over former middleweight titleholder Demetrius Andrade and former light heavyweight belt holder Oleksandr Gvozdyk in June.
“this is [Benavidez]”He doesn't want to waste any more time waiting for Canelo. He wants to create his own legend,” Lewkovic said.
“He's going to go his own way without Canelo.”
Although Benavidez suffered a hand injury in his fight against Gvozdyk and was unable to record a knockout, he remains a strong contender in the next weight class and has expressed strong interest in the Bivol-Beterbiev fight on October 12 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Benavidez has spoken about the possibility of moving up in weight as his career progresses, speculating that he thinks he could be at heavyweight by his mid-30s.
Winning a title there would certainly pave the way for him to succeed in the world.
