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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MINNEAPOLIS – David Morrell Jr. couldn’t help but break into laughter when he stood face-to-face with Aidos Yerbossynuly after they weighed in Friday afternoon at W Minneapolis The Forshay.
Draped in a Kazakh flag, Yerbossynuly donned a traditional, furry hat commonly worn in his homeland. Unamused, Yerbossynuly sternly looked into Morrell’s eyes, as if to let him know there would be nothing to laugh about Saturday night in their 12-round, 168-pound title fight at The Armory.
Morrell, 24, officially weighed in at 166.6 pounds. Moments earlier, Yerbossynuly, 30, stepped on the Minnesota Office of Combat Sports’ scale at 167.2 pounds.
Caesars Sportsbook listed the Cuban-born Morrell (7-0, 6 KOs), a southpaw who resides part-time in Minneapolis, as an 11-1 favorite Friday. Yerbossynuly (16-0, 11 KOs) is the mandatory challenger for Morrell’s secondary WBA super middleweight title.
Their fight will headline a “Showtime Championship Boxing” tripleheader scheduled to start at 9 p.m. ET. The official weights for the Morrell-Yerbossynuly undercard bouts are listed below.
Showtime
9 p.m. ET; 8 p.m. CT
Jeison Rosario (23-3-1, 17 KOs), Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 160 pounds vs. Brian Mendoza (20-2, 14 KOs), Albuquerque, New Mexico, 159.2 pounds, 10 rounds, middleweights.
Fiodor Czerkaszyn (20-0, 13 KOs), Kharkiv, Ukraine, 158.8 pounds vs. Nathaniel Gallimore (22-5-1, 17 KOs), Des Plaines, Illinois, 158.6 pounds, 10 rounds, middleweights.
Showtime Sports YouTube channel
6:30 p.m. ET; 5:30 p.m. CT
Andre Dirrell (28-3, 18 KOs), Flint, Michigan, 174 pounds vs. Yunieski Gonzalez (21-4, 17 KOs), Pinar del Rio, Cuba, 174 pounds, 10 rounds, light heavyweights.
Julian Williams (27-3-1, 16 KOs, 1 NC), Philadelphia, 159.6 pounds vs. Rolando Mansilla (18-11-1, 8 KOs), Parana, Argentina, 158 pounds, 8 rounds, middleweights.
Kent Cruz (16-0-2, 10 KOs), St. Louis, 143.6 pounds vs. Enriko Gogokhia (13-0-1, 8 KOs), Zugdidi, Republic of Georgia, 141.4 pounds, 8 rounds, welterweights.
Non-televised undercard
5:10 ET; 4:10 CT
Yoenis Tellez (2-0, 2 KOs), Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, 155.8 pounds vs. Dario Guerrero-Meneses (1-2-1, 0 KOs), Long Beach, California, 159.6 pounds, 8 rounds, middleweights.
Ablaikhan Zhussupov (2-0, 1 KO), Karaganda, Kazakhstan, 146.6 pounds vs. Demarcus Layton (8-3-1, 5 KOs), Little Rock, Arkansas, 145.4 pounds, 6 rounds, welterweights.
Demler Zamora (9-0, 8 KOs), Las Vegas, 132.2 pounds vs. Clay Burns (10-13-2, 4 KOs), Fort Worth, Texas, 132.2 pounds, 6 rounds, lightweights.
Jose Perez (10-1-2, 4 KOs), Oak Hills, California, 129.6 pounds vs. Angel Luna (15-11-1, 8 KOs), Bronx, New York, 129 pounds, 4/6 rounds, junior lightweights.
Maximus Garland (2-0, 2 KOs), Capitol Heights, Maryland, 149 pounds vs. Alex Cortez (pro debut), Redding, California, 151½ pounds, 4 rounds, junior middleweights.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
