The respect David Benavidez has earned doesn’t exist in just the super middleweight division.
Whenever the current WBC 168-pound interim titlist enters the ring, fans, and fighters across multiple divisions flock to their television sets. Dmitry Bivol, unsurprisingly, does the same.
On two separate occasions earlier this year, Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs) put on a show. To kick off his 2023, Benavidez had an all-out war against Caleb Plant. Following arguably the biggest win of his career, he doubled down.
Just a few short months ago, the 26-year-old was thrown into the ring with Demetrius Andrade. Although he’s spent the majority of his career being avoided, Benavidez happily took him on.
It took the former two-time champion a few rounds to figure things out, but once he did, he ran over Andrade, violently stopping him at the end of the sixth round. Bivol, by and large, watched every second of Benavidez’s two appearances. Normally, the Russian native isn’t the most talkative fighter around. He kept up with that personality recently.
Still, even though he’s soft-spoken, Bivol tipped his cap to the super middleweight contender.
“He’s a good fighter,” Bivol told ESNEWS. “I respect him.”
Remaining at 168 pounds isn’t a pragmatic plan for Benavidez much longer. The 26-year-old has made weight more smoothly as of late but he’s openly flirted with the idea of moving up to the light heavyweight division.
Bivol, who’s in possession of the WBA title, can hear Benavidez’s footsteps a mile away. He’s also noticed that Benavidez has called him out on several occasions. Giving him his undivided attention, however, is unlikely. With Lyndon Arthur next up, the pound-for-pound star refuses to take his eyes off the prize.
If and when Benavidez decides that he’s no longer able to make 168 pounds safely, Bivol admits that apprehension will begin to set in for the rest of the division.
“He could fight in 175 and make problems for fighters of course.”