Promoter and manager Sampson Lewkowicz already has his eyes set on making Cinco de Mayo in 2026 a banner event.

Lewkowicz hopes it will be headlined by his light heavyweight star David Benavidez against the winner of the trilogy fight between undisputed champion Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev trilogy, which is expected later this year.

Lewkowicz slammed several of the weekend’s drab bouts, which featured Devin Haney, Canelo Alvarez, and Ryan Garcia, although he was impressed with Rolly Romero’s discipline in recording an important win over Garcia.

Lewkowicz co-promotes Ramon Cardenas, who floored Naoya Inoue before succumbing to the Japanese star’s firepower in round eight, along with Paco Damian of Paco Presents and Garry Jonas of ProBox TV.

“You can’t buy good fights,” said Lewkowicz, who exclusively promotes. “Those two events in New York and Saudi Arabia cost in the high tens of millions and they were nothing compared to Sunday’s Top Rank event, which cost a fraction of that amount, but delivered the kind of action we needed to save face for boxing.”

He hopes Benavidez will feature in next year’s showpiece, against either Bivol or Beterbiev and no longer does Team Benavidez have Canelo in their sights following his fight with Scull in Riyadh.

“After watching Canelo Alvarez Saturday night and how he looked, I wouldn’t put him in with Benavidez for fear he’d be badly injured,” added Lewkowicz. “David Benavidez will fight in the fall and then be ready for Cinco de Mayo to face either Bivol or Beterbiev, where the torch will finally be passed to him as the new face of boxing.”

As well as looking forward, Lewkowicz reflected on the heart shown by Cardenas, which along with the excitement brought by Inoue, ended up being the weekend’s main talking point.

“Ramon’s career will change trajectory now, as he showed he belongs among the top fighters at junior featherweight and bantamweight,” added Lewkowicz. “Thank you to Garry Jonas for giving him the chance to shine on ProBox TV and Top Rank for the opportunity against Inoue.”