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.
ProboxTV’s championship series is now on the ProBoxTV YouTube channel for $5/month.
Learn More
Photo: Leigh Dawney/Queensberry Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and William Scull both made the super middleweight limit ahead of their May 3 clash in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
This is Alvarez’s sixth straight fight in the division, and though he fought at 175lbs to take on Dmitry Bivol before that run, he has not had any especially close shaves with the 168lbs limit since. Here he weighed in at 167.1lbs, while Scull hit the scales even lighter at 166.1.
This is by all accounts a mismatch, with Scull lacking the skill, power, and pedigree to match Alvarez on any level. But Scull is the IBF champion, meaning this fight is for all four world titles at super middleweight, and thus has a convenient marketing angle. To most, this is the fight before the fight as Canelo will likely take on fellow future Hall of Famer Terence Crawford in Las Vegas in September.
Alvarez told DAZN host Claudia Trejos that, “I don’t really fucking care about the height, about the size,” when asked about Scull’s height advantage. “When you’re a good fighter, it doesn’t matter. I don’t care, I’ve been in there with everybody.”
“I know exactly what I need to do,” Scull, the biggest underdog of any Alvarez opponent since Avni Yildrim in 2021, said to Trejos.
The undercard is where the intrigue lies in this card, particularly in a potential heavyweight slugfest between Martin Bakole and Efe Ajagba, and a rematch of Bruno Surace’s shocking knockout of Jaime Munguia. Bakole, who weighed in at a mountainous 310lbs for his fight with Joseph Parker in February – which he took on mere days’ notice and seemed ill-prepared for – came in at a slightly trimmer 299 here.
Full weights for the card are below, including the aforementioned fights and a cavernous 62lbs difference between Kevin Nicolas Espindola and Richard Riakporhe in a heavyweight clash.
Super middleweight – 12 rounds
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez - 167.1lbs
William Scull - 166.1lbs
Cruiserweight – 12 rounds
Badou Jack - 200.0lbs
Norair Mikaeljan - 198.1lbs
Super middleweight – 12 rounds
Bruno Surace - 167.7lbs
Jaime Munguia - 167.7lbs
Heavyweight – 10 rounds
Efe Ajagba - 240.0lbs
Martin Bakole - 299.0lbs
Heavyweights – 8 rounds
Kevin Nicolas Espindola - 297lbs
Richard Riakporhe - 235lbs
Super middleweights – 6 rounds
Aaron Guerrero - 166.1lbs
Brayan Leon - 169.1lbs
Middleweights – 6 rounds
Michel Polina - 159.8lbs
Marco Verde - 158.7lbs
Lightweights – 6 rounds
Alexander Morales - 133.6lbs
Mohammed Alakel - 134.1lbs
