David Benavidez camp refutes Artur Beterbiev talk of dodging megafight

David Benavidez’s team isn’t buying former undisputed light-heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev’s recounting of conversations to arrange a high-profile showdown between the pound-for-pound members.

“They’re lying,” Benavidez’s father-manager-trainer, Jose Benavidez Snr told BoxingScene Thursday. “We want to fight him. Let’s make that fight happen. Tell the [Beterbiev] manager to contact me, and we will make that fight happen in five minutes. Do you have his manager’s number? Let’s go.”

While Russia’s 41-year-old Beterbiev 21-1 (20 KOs) told Match TV he sought to arrange a fight with Benavidez 32-0 (26 KOs) after the three-division champion from Phoenix defeated Anthony Yarde in November, the Benavidez camp said there was no contact with Beterbiev since their effort to make a match before settling on Yarde.

“Nothing happened, but we still want to fight him,” Benavidez Snr said. “We’re here to fight anybody. If Beterbiev’s ready, let’s make it happen. Who wants to fight? Let’s see. I think they’re all talk.”

Beterbiev threw similar accusations in Benavidez’s direction.

“Benavidez is the kind of guy who talks a lot more than he does,” Beterbiev said. “His team apparently didn’t expect me to agree [to fight him] so quickly [after the Yarde victory], so they immediately changed their mind and chose [Gilberto] Ramirez.”

Benavidez won that unified cruiserweight title fight by sixth-round stoppage on May 2, then visited Mexico last week to seek a date with WBC cruiserweight champion Noel Mikaelian.

WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman granted the request and designated Benavidez the mandatory contender Friday minutes after Mikaelian and Zuffa Boxing cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia were reported by BoxingScene to be finalizing a deal to fight.

If that happens next, Sulaiman said Mikaelian will lose his belt and Benavidez will have the opportunity to win it by facing interim champion Michal Cieslak.

Benavidez Snr said he’s sought a fight of greater magnitude, contacting the unbeaten and recent IBF cruiserweight champion Opetaia, Zuffa Boxing head Dana White and Saudi Arabia boxing financier Turki Alalshikh to no avail over recent weeks.

A manager of Opetaia contacted Benavidez Snr, but there have been no follow-up conversations.

As for Beterbiev, he vented that the selective choosing of opposition irritates him.

“That’s foreign to me,” he said.

Benavidez Snr said his expectation through the silence has been that Beterbiev most wants a trilogy fight with current three-belt light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol after the pair split their first two fights.

“We’re here to fight anybody to prove David’s the best. Come talk to Benavidez Snr, please,” he said.