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 Dennis 'dSource' Guillermo
WBC Silver minimumweight champion Denver "The Excitement" Cuello (29-4-6, 19 KOs) is itching to upgrade his belt buckle in 2012 to the shinier gold version.
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And while the WBC ordered a mandatory final eliminator for the #2 ranked Cuello against the #1 minimumweight contender Ganigan Lopez (20-4, 14 KOs) to face current champ Kazuto Ioka of Japan, his manager Aljoe Jaro is planning a tune-up fight for his ward on Feb. to keep him sharp.
Negotiations have been ordered by the WBC for the fight, and if an agreement is not met, there will be a purse bid on February 3 in Mexico City for the Cuello-Lopez eliminator.
"We're very busy these days. I am arranging a tune-up fight for Denver on Feb. 18, before the title eliminator on April 7. God-willing, if we win both fights, the mandatory world title fight will be in July," Jaro said.
The courageous and hard-hitting Cuello has been patiently waiting for his opportunity, taking on each challenge presented to him, and is riding an 8-fight winning streak after a bizzare disqualification in Mexico in May of 2010, wherein he dropped Juan Hernandez (recently loss to Ioka by UD) in the third round, coming back from being dropped himself in the 2nd. Cuello inadvertently hit his bloody opponent while he was down, leading to his DQ loss. All of Cuello's 8 wins have been by KO, and has been making waves both in the Philippines and Mexico for his performances.
Recently, Cuello wrote an open letter to the champ Ioka, asking him to come out and play:
"You can call the shots. I can fight you in Japan, even in front of your house. You can choose any judge and it’s okay even if all judges and the referee were your relatives. I can also fight you without any purse. Just provide plane tickets, hotel and food for me, my manager and my trainer. I don’t care about the money. I only want a shot at your belt. I have been ranked within the top five for years but was never given the chance to fight for that belt. Now should be the right time. I am calling you Kazuto Ioka, your manager, your promoter and anybody in your team. Let’s make this happen," Cuello wrote as published on Philboxing.com.
It's safe to say that this kid will stop at nothing to get the title he has been aiming for years.
"This is our dream. We have been working hard to get this world title, and now that I can finally smell it within reach, I will do everything that it takes to be a World Champion," Cuello told me while I was in Manila last November.
Dennis 'dSource' Guillermo is a prolific boxing writer. Follow him on Twitter , and for an archive of his work click here . You e-mail him at DennisGuillermo2@yahoo.com
