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 Keith Idec
It’ll be about a year, according to Emanuel Steward, before Seth Mitchell is really ready to fight Wladimir Klitschko for his heavyweight titles.
Mitchell impresses Steward, though, and the Hall-of-Fame trainer considers the undefeated former Michigan State football player one of only two Americans, along with Chris Arreola, that he would want to see the dominant Klitschko (57-3, 50 KOs) box in the foreseeable future.
“It’s unfortunate that we don’t have any heavyweight challengers in America,” Steward said . “It’s not [the Klitschkos’] fault. Wladimir asked me a while back about Seth Mitchell, because I did the [HBO] broadcast [for Mitchell’s last fight].
“He looks good. I like him. He’s a fundamentally good fighter. He does what I like to see heavyweights do. He comes out and he throws punches. He doesn’t wait and he’d be a good challenge. It’s too bad we don’t have a bunch of them.”
Mitchell (24-0-1, 18 KOs), of Brandywine, Md., recorded the most noteworthy win of his four-year pro career Dec. 10 by knocking out Uzbekistan’s Timur Ibragimov (30-4-1, 16 KOs) in the second round in Washington, D.C.
The 29-year-old Mitchell made his HBO debut in that fight. He’ll return to the ring in another HBO co-feature April 28 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Mitchell will face Philadelphia’s Chazz Witherspoon (30-2, 22 KOs) in a 10-rounder that night on the Bernard Hopkins-Chad Dawson undercard.
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com.
