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 Luis Sandoval
The Junior Welterweight and Welterweight divisions are undoubtedly the two hottest and deepest divisions in the sport of boxing today. There is a deep pool of talent there along with some of the most recognizable names in the sport including the two biggest stars - Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.
While Golden Boy Promotions Richard Schaefer recently announced his plans to stage a 140 pound tourney with his stable of fighters, Top Rank founder and CEO Bob Arum also has a group of fighters he’ll be pitting together in the coming months in the Welterweight division.
BoxingScene spoke to Arum regarding some of the potential matchups we can see in the near future.
“Well, first [Timothy Bradley] has to beat [Ruslan] Provodnikov. If he beats Provodnikov and Rios beats Alvarado and then we’ll see what Manny [Pacquiao] and [Juan Manuel] Marquez will do. So I got four guys and we’ll mix and match. If Marquez and Manny decide to fight this year, then I’ll try to make Rios and Bradley. If Manny and Marquez won’t fight this year, one of them can fight Bradley and the other can fight Rios. So we got a lot of options there” Arum would inform BoxingScene.
A problem most have pointed out for Top Rank is that in the 140 or 147 pound divisions, Golden Boy has an edge as most of the fighters in those weight classes are under their promotional banner. When Arum was asked about his feelings on that subject, he felt they have just as many options and feels they are not at any disadvantage.
“No, I think they’re plenty of fighters to go around. We have on March 30th Khabib [Allakhverdiev] who’s a Top Rank fighter and will be fighting [Breidis] Prescott. We have on this Bradley-Provodnikov card two of our undefeated Welterweights fighting off with [Wale] Lucky Boy [Omotoso] and [Jessie] Vargas. We have [Luis Carlos] Abregu who will also be fighting for a title in Argentina on April 27th. So we have plenty of Welterweight and Junior Welterweights. There is no lack of fighters” declared the Hall of Fame promoter.
From the sounds of it, while Golden Boy and Top Rank may not mix and match their fighters, they will make the best fights possible with their stables which only means good news for boxing fans.
You can follow Luis Sandoval on Twitter @Truewest007. You can also tune in to The Boxing Lab, Boxingscene’s official audio show every Tuesday from 6-8PM PST with hosts Ernest Gabion, Luis Sandoval, and Ryan Burton.
