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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By Rick Reeno
Gaby Penagaricano, the legal adviser to former three division world champion Miguel Cotto (38-4, 31KOs), has informed BoxingScene.com that his fighter is dead set on returning to New York's Madison Square Garden on June 7th, hopefully challenging Sergio Martinez (51-2-2, 28KOs) for the WBC middleweight crown.
Top Rank is going to co-promote the event with Cotto's company, and Top Rank's CEO, Bob Arum, stated in an earlier article on BoxingScene that he would love to stage Martinez-Cotto at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the site of Super Bowl XLVIII on Feb. 2 and home of the Giants and Jets.
“I think it could do a huge number in MetLife Stadium,” Arum said. “We’d set it up for 40,000 or 50,000.”
“Martinez has said that if we did it in the MetLife Stadium. He would buy for the Argentine fans both here in Florida and from Argentina, who would come to the fight, $1 million worth of tickets. That’s what he has told us. That’s what he has proposed through [adviser] Sampson [Lewkowicz].”
Cotto considers MSG his "home away from home" and he wants to make history, by becoming the only Puerto Rican fighter to win four divisional titles, at the venue where he built his career. The card will also take place on the eve of the Puerto Rican Day parade in New York - and Cotto has not fought at MSG, on the eve of the parade, since a decision win over Joshua Clottey in June of 2009.
"It's June 7th at the Garden. If it's Martinez - great, and if not it will be someone else on June 7th. Miguel was unequivocally clear that he will fight at Madison Square Garden and nowhere else," Penagaricano told BoxingScene.com.
