The junior middleweight division wasn’t exactly the long-term landing spot that Jose Benavidez Jr. was hoping for. After failing to pick up a single win in two appearances, Benavidez decided that sticking around wasn’t worth the taxing weight cuts.
Although he might be giving up a bit of size, the freedom of eating whenever he wanted without killing his body made all the sense in the world. So, on a whim, the 31-year-old made the move to the middleweight division.
The 160-pound newbie wasn’t given the most difficult fight in the world for his debut, recently stopping Sladan Janjanin in the fifth round just a few weeks ago. It felt good to get back in the win column but it felt even better stepping onto the scales one day prior.
Benavidez (28-2-1, 19 KOs) believes he’s stronger than ever. That, coupled with what he believes is a massively improved ring IQ, and the 31-year-old is convinced that he’s just now entering his prime.
The middleweight division, as of late, has been treated flippantly. Gone are the days of Gennadiy Golovkin, Canelo Alvarez, and Danny Jacobs running things. There is, however, one name that normally receives the lion's share of the attention in the WBC titlist, Jermall Charlo.
The ball is somewhat in Benavidez’s court at this point. He could instruct his handlers to find him another soft touch in an attempt to build up his body and confidence. Those plans, nevertheless, sound a bit boring and quite frankly, too painstakingly long at this stage in his career. If the Arizona native had things his way, he’d much rather face the man that’s been occupying that green belt for an incredibly long time.
“I want Charlo,” Benavidez told YSM Sports Media. “I want that belt at 160. Let’s make it happen.”
Although Benavidez vs. Charlo sounds like a fun fight, the current WBC champion has to announce what his immediate plans are. It's been over two years since we’ve seen the truculent champ in the ring. But while injuries and personal issues have delayed his return, the 33-year-old did reveal that he’ll return later this year.
To a large extent, we’ve heard this before from Charlo. If his words prove to be erroneous and he extends his ring absence to three years, Benavidez will simply go down the line and take on the next best available opponent.
“I’ll fight whoever at 160.”