David Benavidez’s promoter hopes Dmitry Bivol isn’t another Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.
Benavidez stopped Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez on Saturday to secure two cruiserweight titles. After the fight, Benavidez, who also holds the WBC light heavyweight title, made it clear that three-belt titleholder Bivol is next on his hit list.
Bivol will return May 30 against Michael Eifert, the 35-year-old Bivol’s first fight since avenging his lone career loss, to Artur Beterbiev in February 2025.
“The fight we want to go after is Bivol,” Sampson Lewkowicz told BoxingScene. “This is what [Benavidez] wants.”
If the bout were made, it would be for the undisputed light heavyweight crown, barring that neither fighter loses a title in the process. Benavidez, 32-0 (26 KOs), has established one of the most impressive recent runs in the sport with wins over Ramirez, David Morrell Jnr, Demetrius Andrade and Caleb Plant. Once burdened by waiting for then-super middleweight titleholder Alvarez, the 29-year-old Benavidez has made his own destiny, without the Mexican star.
Benavidez’s name had been attached to Alvarez for some time, with no fight ever developing. In June 2024, Benavidez all but shut the door on an Alvarez fight by moving up to light heavyweight and defeating Oleksandr Gvozdyk. He has fought twice more at light heavyweight, and now, at cruiserweight, “The Mexican Monster” has shown ferocious power with endurance and blinding hand speed, making him one of the most exciting fighters of his generation. Benavidez has become a fan favorite and landed high on pound-for-pound lists, yet the remnants of a failed Canelo fight linger.
Benavidez’s team is targeting Bivol, but it will not sit around holding out hope again.
“He will not wait like [he did for] Canelo for nothing; now he has his own legacy,” Lewkowicz said of Benavidez. “I believe Bivol, hopefully, isn’t another Canelo – but you never know.”
Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.
