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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ST. PETERSBURG, FL – The Chinese New Year begins today. Happy 4704 – the Year of the Dog! Imagine that it was back in 1275 when Marco Polo first landed in China. Marco Polo was the Venetian traveler and author who introduced Europe to the unknown treasures of China, including spaghetti, fireworks, AND BOXING. In his book, The Travels of Marco Polo, he speaks of the excitement of watching bare-knuckled fights while placing bets with odds maker Confucius ‘The Greek’ Snyder.
“It’s the year of the dog alright, the Top Dog – ME!” said undefeated IBF/IBO super middleweight champion JEFF ‘LEFT HOOK’ LACY, 731 years later. Lacy is already in high gear, training for his title unification fight, in St. Petersburg, FL with trainer Dan Birmingham, against undefeated WBO champion Joe Calzaghe. “It’s time to sweep out the division and I am the broom that is going to do it. Unity is a symbol of the Chinese New Year and I am going to do my bit by unifying the super middleweight titles. My fight against Joe Calzaghe is my New Years celebration. It is the beginning of my career and the beginning of a new era in boxing.”
With a combined professional record of 61-0 (48 KOs), and a victory by knockout percentage of 78.6%, Lacy, 21-0 (17 KOs), from St. Petersburg, FL, and Calzaghe, 40-0 (31 KOs), from Newbridge, Wales, are headed to the division’s biggest showdown since Roy Jones, Jr. and James Toney rumbled in 1994.
Promoted by Gary Shaw Productions, LLC and Frank Warren’s Sports Network, the Lacy-Calzaghe world super middleweight championship fight will be televised live on SHOWTIME at 9 PM ET/PT (delayed on the west coast), Saturday, March 4, from the MEN Arena in Manchester, England (2 AM Manchester time.)
