Overview
- Benavidez, who stopped Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez in round six on Saturday in Las Vegas, now holds the WBA and WBO cruiserweight belts and has won titles at 168, 175, and 200 pounds.
- Dmitry Bivol is the top target this year, with Benavidez saying negotiations are underway as Bivol first defends his light heavyweight titles against Michael Eifert on May 30 in Russia.
- Benavidez says he will not fight for Zuffa Boxing belts, which complicates a unification with Jai Opetaia, who signed with Zuffa in February and was later stripped of his IBF title.
- He pushed back on a jump to heavyweight despite public calls for an Oleksandr Usyk showdown, saying a move that big might be possible only in several years.
- The knockout has supercharged pound-for-pound debates and raised his drawing power, and he again called out Canelo Alvarez even as he doubts that fight will be made.