BoxRec

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑09 Apr 2025, 15:23

Turki overpaid then, big time, surely. There were reportedly only 400k ppv buys worldwide for the rematch. No wonder he's drawn his horns in a bit.

is it better-be-ev or bet-er-be-ev?

ya and no chance bivol only got 2.75 on the saudi cards for that fight

that said id much rather have the fresh bivol-benavidez than bivol-bert 3

kinda feel for benavidez a bit, seems frozen out from the very top guys, and i dont get the impression he's jiust all bark, i think he really does want the fights

They already told us before the fight they would be splitting $20m

suliman is a plonker, maybe aas much or more as his old man

sucked jermall charlo's arse hole for years, bent over for egg boy benn, clearing multiple other drug cheats over and over despite claiming to be paragons of clean boxing

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑09 Apr 2025, 17:23 is it better-be-ev or bet-er-be-ev?

Arr-Tore beh-TAREbee-eff

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑06 Nov 2025, 04:47

How often do "I hurt them in sparring" challengers end up losing? Always seems like they're desperately trying to justify their chances to themselves

with Bivol the winner is Pirelli tyres

Benavidez Won’t Rule Out Bivol, Calls Him ‘More Of A Man Of His Word Than Canelo’

David Benavidez wants to believe Dmitry Bivol.

The WBC light heavyweight champ hopes his former sparring partner actually wants to fight him. Maybe it’s wishful thinking because Benavidez realizes he needs Bivol to fully unify the 175-pound crowns.

Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) admitted he got the same aggravating vibes when Bivol vacated the WBC belt that Canelo Alvarez gave up when the Mexican superstar avoided him. Because Bivol fought Artur Beterbiev twice, however, Benavidez is optimistic about getting the opportunity to take The Ring, IBF, WBA and WBO titles from the Russian champion once he recovers from back surgery.

“This is kind of like what was going on with Canelo,” Benavidez told The Ring. “But I wouldn’t rule it out. I think Dmitry Bivol is more of a man of his word than Canelo. If they mandate the fight again, then I’m sure it’ll happen. But I don’t really wanna bash him too much because he did have back surgery and he did have two great fights with Artur Beterbiev. So, when he’s ready to fight I’m gonna be right here, waiting for him.”

Phoenix’s Benavidez, who will defend his title against Anthony Yarde on Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was elevated from interim champion because Bivol didn’t want to fight him next. Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs) gave up his WBC belt seven months ago rather than making a mandated defense versus Benavidez, who won the interim title by unanimously outpointing Oleksandr Gvozdyk in June 2024 in Las Vegas.

Benavidez envisions Bivol facing an opponent less dangerous than him when he returns next year. He hasn’t fought since he beat Beterbiev by majority decision in their 12-round rematch February 22 in Riyadh.

If Bivol basically takes a tune-up bout, Benavidez won’t wait around for his belts.

Benavidez, 28, would prefer to box Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KOs) after he beats Bivol. Assuming the heavily favored Benavidez beats Yarde in the main event of “The Ring IV: Night of the Champions” card, he considers Callum Smith (31-2, 22 KOs), the WBO interim champ, and WBA/WBO cruiserweight champ Gilberto Ramirez (48-1, 30 KOs) as the most appealing alternatives for his first fight of 2026.

Benavidez is open to moving up to cruiserweight for one fight and returning to light heavyweight if he can’t battle Bivol next.

“The good thing is for me is that we have a lotta options on the table,” Benavidez said. “We have Beterbiev on the table. We have ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez on the table. So, it doesn’t really matter to me. If he’s gonna [fight someone else], I would rather fight the best Dmitry Bivol out there, as opposed to fighting a Dmitry Bivol that’s still hurt. I don’t want him to give excuses, like, ‘Oh, I wasn’t a hundred percent ready.’ I wanna beat these fighters at their absolute best, and that’s exactly what I’m gonna do.”

England’s Yarde (27-3, 24 KOs) is The Ring’s fourth-ranked light heavyweight, two spots beneath Benavidez, who is ninth on The Ring’s pound-for-pound list.

David Benavidez’s promoter: Dmitry Bivol is a ‘Russian Canelo’ if he ducks again

David Benavidez’s impressive career has spanned two weight classes, landed him on the pound-for-pound list, and is likely worthy of the Hall of Fame. Regardless, the lack of a superfight on his record will continue to define his resume alongside his accolades.

One potential superfight with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez never happened. Instead, Canelo fought numerous lesser contenders in an exasperating end to his run at super middleweight before finally losing to Terence Crawford. Now, unified light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol is pursuing a trilogy bout with Artur Beterbiev and has already dropped one world title rather than defend it against Benavidez.

Instead of waiting around a second time, Benavidez is seizing control of his fate. He has announced his intentions to become synonymous with Cinco de Mayo Weekend, a date traditionally dominated by other superstars in the past, and to fight unified cruiserweight titleholder Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez on May 2, 2026.

Benavidez, 31-0 (25 KOs), and his team are also sufficiently emboldened to talk some smack. (One of the many dubious reasons Alvarez offered for his swerving a Benavidez fight was that Benavidez lacked respect for him, leading to a bemused “Mexican Monster” in interviews.)

“After waiting so long for Canelo Alvarez, only to have him avoid us at all costs, David will wait for no one ever again,” Sampson Lewkowicz, Benavidez’s promoter, said in a press release. “We offered Bivol $8 million to face David last year, and he chose to vacate the WBC title a day before a scheduled purse bid rather than face him. [Former champion Artur] Beterbiev is coming off a loss, so other than money, he brings nothing to table. Besides, David wanted the winner of [the] rematch, not the loser. David would stop Beterbiev.”

Benavidez may be ascending to cruiserweight, but these were heavyweight words from his promoter. Benavidez isn’t necessarily done at 175lbs, though.

“The WBA has guaranteed us that David is the mandatory for the Bivol/Beterbiev winner,” Lewkowicz added in the release. “Bivol will have to act like a ‘Russian Canelo’ and vacate another title to avoid facing David. He doesn’t want to fight because he knows when they sparred, David put a beating on him and dropped him. He has zero chance of beating David. That I promise you. He has no power to keep David off him, and he will take a brutal beating!”

Trash talk is an integral piece of the fight game, and Team Benavidez certainly has reason for frustration. With Beterbiev turning 41 in January, few would rather see him fight Bivol for a third time – 24 technically brilliant but antiseptic rounds between those two have clearly established that neither is meaningfully better than the other. Bivol-Benavidez is also more appealing than Ramirez-Benavidez.

Alas, Bivol is likely to take a tune-up fight following back surgery before a rubber match with the ever-aging Beterbiev. That means we’re at least a year out from Benavidez being able to prove any of his promoter’s claims. Until that point or Benavidez meeting his match elsewhere, fighting words will have to prove sustenance enough.

Benavidez Believes Bivol Will Fight Him Next, Ready To Drop Back Down

David Benavidez is tempted to remain at cruiserweight.

Less stressed without worrying about squeezing down to the light heavyweight limit of 175 pounds, Benavidez (31-0, 25 KOs) feels much more comfortable physically and mentally as his fight with WBA/WBO cruiserweight champ Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez nears. Benavidez believes it would be “dumb,” however, to abandon the profitable, historically significant championship path he created when he moved up from super middleweight to light heavyweight two years ago.

The Phoenix native is also confident that Dmitry Bivol would fight him next, assuming Benavidez beats Ramirez on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena and Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs) defeats overmatched mandatory challenger Michael Eifert (13-1, 5 KOs) on May 30 at UMMC Arena in Ekaterinburg, Russia. Bivol, who will fight for the first time since he underwent back surgery in August, could also pursue a rubber match with fellow former undisputed light heavyweight champ Artur Beterbiev following the Eifert fight.

Benavidez is still more optimistic about finally facing Bivol than he was when Bivol gave up the WBC light heavyweight title in April 2025 rather than make a mandated defense against Benavidez. The 29-year-old Benavidez was elevated from interim champion once Bivol vacated that title and still owns it, despite the fact he has moved up 25 pounds to meet Ramirez.

“I definitely do think he’ll fight me,” Benavidez told The Ring regarding Bivol. “If anybody’s really competitive like that, I think it’s Bivol. So, I think he wants the fight. So, I don’t think he’s not gonna take that fight. I think he’s definitely gonna honor that. But we’ll see. At the end of the day, I might think something today and something else might happen tomorrow, so I don’t know. We’re taking it one fight at a time – Zurdo – but definitely I’m planning on getting Bivol right after Zurdo.”

Benavidez, ranked No. 7 on The Ring’s pound-for-pound list, also wants to test himself against Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KOs), the only opponent who has beaten Bivol, who is ranked No. 5.

“I put on the matchmaker hat,” Benavidez said, “and the only fights I think are not only good for me, but also for the fans and the sport of boxing, are Bivol and Beterbiev. And I’m not gonna leave that weight class until I get both those fights.”

DraftKings lists Benavidez as a 4-1 favorite over Mexico’s Ramirez (48-1, 30 KOs), a former WBO super middleweight titleholder who has lost only a one-sided unanimous decision to Bivol in November 2022 in Abu Dhabi.

Amazon’s Prime Video and DAZN will distribute Ramirez-Benavidez as the main event of a pay-per-view show in the United States ($79.99; 8 p.m. ET). The card is included for subscribers of DAZN’s Ultimate plan, which costs $44.99 per month in the U.S. and £24.99 in the UK.

Becoming champion in a third weight class partially prompted Benavidez’s brief move up in weight, as did the marketability of a fight with Ramirez on “Cinco de Mayo” weekend in Las Vegas. “The Mexican Monster” would feel unfulfilled, though, if he didn’t complete his championship mission against Bivol, who owns The Ring, IBF, WBA and WBO titles.

“I have an obligation to myself to go back down,” Benavidez said. “It’d be dumb, an error on my part, if I don’t go back down and try to get the belts. Even if I feel real good now, there’s just too many fights, good fights, to be made at 175 for me to leave that on the table. At the end of the day, I’m gonna need fights, especially if I’m thinking of fighting for the next 10 years.

“So, right there at ’75 I got two or three fights. I can come back up to cruiserweight and maybe go back down. I’m not taking light heavyweight off the table at all. If anything, I’m gonna work even harder to get back down there, to go and win those titles, because that’s already something I’m in position to do. And I don’t like to leave things on the table.”

Benavidez Confirms Early Talks With Team Bivol

David Benavidez has taken the first steps toward the fight he wants most.

After pummeling Gilberto Ramirez last weekend to become WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the Mexican star immediately called out Dmitry Bivol.

Bivol, the Ring, IBF, WBA, and WBO light heavyweight champion, has business to attend to first. He's returning to the ring against IBF mandatory Michael Eifert on May 30 in Russia following back surgery last August.

However, Benavidez, the current WBC light heavyweight champion, revealed to Sean Zittel on The Porter Way Podcast that discussions have already started behind the scenes.

“We’re already in talks with that," Benavidez said. "But first things first. We gotta see how he comes out, like if he comes out with any injuries. I don’t think he’s gonna have any problems in that type of way. But that fight is definitely happening.”

Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs) was ordered by the WBC to fight Benavidez (32-0, 26 KOs) early last year. However, he opted to vacate the title and pursue a third fight with Artur Beterbiev after splitting two fights with his countryman.

A third fight with Beterbiev might still be on the table. However, Benavidez (32-0, 26 KOs) believes a showdown between him and Bivol is more compelling. Not only that, he presented an idea he believes would elevate the matchup to even greater heights.

“I was thinking, 'How can we make the fight even bigger?' Maybe we can do a catchweight at 190,” Benavidez said. “We get the cruiserweight belts involved, we get the light heavyweight belts involved, and winner takes all."

If Bivol and/or the powers that be – including the sanctioning bodies – don't embrace that concept?

That would be fine with Benavidez, who has stated he's willing to move all the way back down to 175 after only one fight at cruiserweight. He weighed in at 196¾ for his fight against Ramirez.

Benavidez has said he'd like to headline a card on Mexican Independence Day weekend in mid-September. However, he believes a fight with Bivol would happen later in the year, which would give him plenty of time to whittle his body down to the light heavyweight limit.

“I can still get to 175,” Benavidez said. “The thing is, if I do end up fighting him, it’s probably not gonna be until the end of the year. It won’t be in September. If I get to work now, I can get down to that weight, and that’s exactly what I plan on doing."

Benavidez is ranked No. 5 in The Ring rankings, one spot ahead of Bivol.

Benavidez is the star now. If they fight they fight at 200 pounds. He shouldn't make any concessions to come back down to 175 for Bivol or anybody else I think he's making a big mistake if he does that. Even if he wins, similar to Jones in the 1st Tarver fight he's gonna look like sh*t, and everyone will be saying he needs to go back up.

gilgamesh wrote: ↑06 May 2026, 05:32 Benavidez is the star now. If they fight they fight at 200 pounds. He shouldn't make any concessions to come back down to 175 for Bivol or anybody else I think he's making a big mistake if he does that. Even if he wins, similar to Jones in the 1st Tarver fight he's gonna look like sh*t, and everyone will be saying he needs to go back up.

Benavidez reportedly didn't weight for cruiserweight. Wouldn't be a problem for him to drop back down to light heavyweight, especially considering he's just come up from super middle. He weighed 3 lbs under the limit.

joshj909 wrote: ↑07 May 2026, 04:00

gilgamesh wrote: ↑06 May 2026, 05:32 Benavidez is the star now. If they fight they fight at 200 pounds. He shouldn't make any concessions to come back down to 175 for Bivol or anybody else I think he's making a big mistake if he does that. Even if he wins, similar to Jones in the 1st Tarver fight he's gonna look like sh*t, and everyone will be saying he needs to go back up.

Benavidez reportedly didn't weight for cruiserweight. Wouldn't be a problem for him to drop back down to light heavyweight, especially considering he's just come up from super middle. He weighed 3 lbs under the limit.

Roy Jones weighed 193 when he fought Ruiz and it hurt him to go back down. Benavidez's only edge there is that he's younger than Roy was then.

gilgamesh wrote: ↑07 May 2026, 12:10

joshj909 wrote: ↑07 May 2026, 04:00

gilgamesh wrote: ↑06 May 2026, 05:32 Benavidez is the star now. If they fight they fight at 200 pounds. He shouldn't make any concessions to come back down to 175 for Bivol or anybody else I think he's making a big mistake if he does that. Even if he wins, similar to Jones in the 1st Tarver fight he's gonna look like sh*t, and everyone will be saying he needs to go back up.

Benavidez reportedly didn't weight for cruiserweight. Wouldn't be a problem for him to drop back down to light heavyweight, especially considering he's just come up from super middle. He weighed 3 lbs under the limit.

Roy Jones weighed 193 when he fought Ruiz and it hurt him to go back down. Benavidez's only edge there is that he's younger than Roy was then.

He did weigh 193, but he kept adding weight. HBO used to do them non-official on the day weigh ins. And he was just below 200 pounds by time he got to the ring.

Tim Bradley: Bivol has perfect style to beat David Benavidez

David Benavidez looked terrific in beating Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez on May 2 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Though the "Mexican Monster" impressed, Hall of Famer Tim Bradley knows one fighter who would give him all sorts of issues in the ring.

“[Dmitry] Bivol has the perfect style to beat him,” Bradley said on his YouTube channel. “I like me some David Benavidez, I can’t wait til he fights again but Bivol is a recipe for disaster. Would it be a fight? Hell yeah it would be a fight. David Benavidez don’t go nowhere easy. But when you got good feet that matches with this [points to his head] and you understand the sweet science, Benavidez has a high IQ too, he does, but he’s stubborn. Bivol isn’t stubborn.”

Immediately after becoming the cruiserweight division’s WBA and WBO champion, Benavidez, who still holds WBC light heavyweight title, said that Bivol is his No. 1 target. He also revealed that preliminary talks have already begun between their teams.

First things first, though, Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs) has to take care of business. The 35-year-old defends his Ring, IBF and WBA 175-pound titles against Michael Eifert in Russia on May 30. It will be his first outing since undergoing back surgery at the tail end of 2025.

Benavidez, The Ring’s No. 5-rated pound-for-pound fighter, said that he’ll need time to get back down in weight, suggesting that he could be ready to return to the light heavyweight division at the end of 2026.

A fight between Benavidez (32-0, 26 KOs) and Bivol could come down to a battle between Benavidez’s pressure and Bivol’s ability to box and keep things at a distance. Nevertheless, Bradley is convinced that Bivol could do a lot that would catch Benavidez off guard.

“Bivol is one of those guys that will do the complete opposite of what you think he’ll do,” Bradley said. “Y’all probably don’t think that he won’t step to Benavidez but he’ll step to his ass. Then, he might even revert back to boxing. Bivol is a different animal. Bivol is cut from that same cloth, that top-tier cloth.”

‘Bivol-Benavidez is the fight to make’ says Eddie Hearn

Talks have already taken place between Matchroom and PBC about a possible fight between David Benavidez and Dmitry Bivol.

Bivol, 24-1 (12 KOs), the world’s leading light-heavyweight, boxes Michael Eifert in Russia later this month in a mandatory defense of his IBF title while Benavidez stepped up to crush unified cruiserweight champion Gilberto Ramirez in Las Vegas on May 2 as he improved to 32-0 (26 KOs).

Bivol faces Eifert at the UMMC Arena in Ekaterinburg.

Hearn is working on the Russian show with RCC, World of Boxing and DAZN, but he is keen to make Bivol-Benavidez before the end of the year.

“We’ve been speaking to Luis DeCubas and PBC. We like Bivol-Benavidez,” Hearn said.

“I think it’s a big, big fight. And obviously he’s got his fight May 30th. And Dimtry’s going to want to be in big fights. He’s not going to want to fight guys like Eifert, who’s a mandatory. “But he wants to be in the big fights and I think Bivol-Benavidez is the fight to make.”

Dmitry Bivol may relinquish WBO title to pursue Artur Beterbiev or David Benavidez

Dmitry Bivol may lose another world title.

The unified WBA, WBO and IBF light heavyweight champion was stripped of his WBC strap last year for choosing to pursue a trilogy with Artur Beterbiev. The two Russians have battled twice in two razor close contests, with the score one a piece, hence the desire for a decider.

A back injury to Bivol put an end to talks of a trilogy but after a year out of the ring the Russian returned last month with a lopsided decision against overmatched IBF mandatory Michael Eifert. Beterbiev, now 41 years old, is still demanding a rubber match he believes he is owed.

Bivol, however, has another mandatory due: WBO interim titleholder Callum Smith.

The clock is ticking on Bivol’s decision; pursue a rematch with Beterbiev and lose his WBO title or take on Smith who, like Bivol, is promoted by Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing. David Benavidez, the WBC titlist at 175, is also under consideration.

“[It shouldn't be long, because obviously [Bivol's] finished his fight now and we need to make sure that we move forward with the plans,” Hearn told Boxing Scene. “Dmitry wants the biggest fights in the sport, he's had his little run out against Eifert – his mandatory – and now he's got to decide if he's going to fight Callum Smith or vacate the WBO.

“There's a lot of interest in the Beterbiev fight in Russia, it's a fight that's important to Dmitry. I think the Benavidez fight is a great fight but so is the Callum Smith fight and obviously it's interesting having both those guys as are our clients. So we've got to see what's next, and if he vacates Callum Smith will be elevated to full champion. Not what [Smith] would have wanted but he'll go out and defend that against a big name. So I think that'll be decided in the coming weeks.”

The current WBO rankings have Beterbiev at No. 1, but should Bivol pursue the trilogy then No. 2 Joshua Buatsi, whom Smith beat on points in a thriller last year, would likely be ordered.

“A great fight,” Hearn said of Smith-Buatsi II. “I mean the first fight was one of the fights of the year, so if that's a defense that Callum Smith has to make, no problem at all, but we'll see. I still like the Dmityi Bivol-Callum Smith fight if I'm honest, so we'll have to see what unfolds.”