David Benavidez flies to Riyadh to pressure Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol winner

David Benavidez has learned his lesson from being put on pause by Canelo Alvarez.

If you want something to happen, you have to assertively speak it into existence.

That’s why Benavidez will be boarding a flight to Saudi Arabia Thursday to firmly state his intention to fight the winner of the undisputed light heavyweight title bout between champion Artur Beterbiev and his Russian countryman, Dmitry Bivol.

He knows an IBF mandatory opponent, Michael Eifert, might be first in line in the rotation of top-ranked contenders, and knows there may be a call for a Beterbiev-Bivol trilogy match should Bivol avenge his October majority decision loss at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

But Benavidez, 30-0 (24 KOs), coming off a strong showing in his unanimous-decision defeat of Cuba’s former unbeaten David Morrell Jnr on February 1, wants to launch an immediate and in-your-face campaign that he’s the most deserving of being next for Saturday’s winner.

“The reason we’re going to Saudi is that both the WBC and WBA have said that David is mandatory to fight the winner of Beterbiev and Bivol … there’s a strong possibility we can make this fight happen,” Benavidez’s father and trainer, Jose Benavidez Snr told BoxingScene on Wednesday.

“So we want to put in an appearance so we can put a little pressure on them. We’re excited to go there and see if something can happen.”

Phoenix’s Benavidez stands as the WBC interim and WBA secondary light-heavyweight champions, and his popularity is such that he’s headlined consecutive pay-per-views while being cast as one of the sport’s most popular future draws.

On the heels of his victory, Saudi Arabia boxing financier Turki Alalshikh invited Benavidez a ringside seat that he and his father will now take him up on.

The Benavidez family have never seen Bivol, 23-1 (12 KOs), or Beterbiev, 21-0 (20 KOs), fight in person. By virtue of his more effective power punches, Beterbiev, 40, prevailed in the October bout over Bivol by scores of 115-113, 116-112, 114-114.

“A lot of people said when we were [interim champion] to Canelo that we should go and make an appearance. We never really did. We didn’t want to be those kinds of people, but now I feel we have to bring as much pressure as we can,” Benavidez Snr said. “It’ll be good to go and hype up the fight and try to make it happen.”

Beterbiev promoter Bob Arum told BoxingScene Wednesday that he hasn’t “thought ahead” to what Beterbiev will do next should he repeat his victory over Bivol. The IBF permitted one exception for this rematch to occur with Eifert waiting, but likely wouldn’t allow Benavidez to jump in line without stripping the belt from whoever stands as champion following Saturday’s rematch.

Alalshikh has suggested he’d want to see a trilogy fight between Beterbiev and Bivol should Bivol win Saturday, but former super middleweight champion Benavidez would be the more attractive play, according to Benavidez Snr.

“Everybody’s working with Turki Alalshikh, so if we stay out of there, are we ever going to get the fights we want? It makes more sense for us to get the winner. Which fight do the people want to see?” Benavidez Snr said.

“Who do we have next? What are we going to do next? Are we going to sit here and wait like we did for Canelo? We’re tired of waiting. We’ve got to go there and work this ourselves, put in our input, you know?”

Benavidez Snr said doing so after the compelling Morrell fight makes the timing pristine, after his punching prowess and skill defused the well-trained Cuban.

“David looked spectacular. He’s exciting, people like him and we got more fans from that fight. It’s the time to go and see what we can do,” Benavidez Sr. said. “We’re in a great position.”

At his post-fight news conference, Benavidez pushed for a light-heavyweight title bout to be staged in the U.S. His father now says they’ll take the fight anywhere, including Saudi Arabia.

“At the end of the day, we want the fight,” Benavidez Sr. said. “It doesn’t matter where we fight. We would love to fight in the United States, but it doesn’t matter where the ring is at. We just want to get in the ring.”

Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.