David Benavidez has no shortage of HUGE fights on his radar. In an exclusive interview with BoxingScene, Jose Benavidez Sr. makes it clear that David still wants the biggest names at 175lbs including Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev. Benavidez has previously said those are two fights he wants to make as he pursues more titles and major challenges. But there’s another name that could make things very interesting: Andy Ruiz Jr. Jose discusses the possibility of an all-Mexican showdown between Benavidez and the former heavyweight champion, along with David’s plans across multiple divisions. And with a potential Jai Opetaia showdown also building after the pair came face-to-face following Opetaia’s latest victory, Benavidez has some massive options ahead.
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By Yuri Tarantin
As BoxingScene.com previously reported, former WBO junior welterweight champion Ruslan Provodnikov (24-4, 17KOs) is leaving HBO and going across the street to Showtime.
Provodnikov and members of his team have long complained that HBO was unable to persuade Top Rank to match any of their fighters against the 'Siberian Rocky.'
He was targeting many of the fighters in Top Rank's stable, including Timothy Bradley, Jessie Vargas, Terence Crawford and especially Brandon Rios. And while some of those fighters were willing to face Provodnikov, the bouts were never made.
Top Rank's CEO, Bob Arum, explained that Provodnikov had lost several of his recent fights and needed to get a few victories before he could be considered.
All three of Provodnikov's recent defeats were very close decisions in some of the best action fights of the last two years [Tim Bradley, Chris Algieri, Lucas Matthysse].
Provodnikov is a very, very good fighter. But, let's be honest about it....even though he makes real good fights - he's lost three of his last four fights [ editor's note - it's actually three of his last five]. So, you know, I think he has to rehabilitate himself and win some fights and get back into the mix," Arum said.
BoxingScene reported on Monday that Petr Petrov is the frontrunner to face Provodnikov on November 7th, possibly at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Yuri Tarantin covers boxing for Allboxing.ru.
