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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The Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois undercard, at Wembley Stadium on July 19, is taking shape after Queensberry today confirmed Lawrence Okolie and Kevin Lerena will do battle at heavyweight and Ukraine’s light heavyweight Daniel Lapin will take on British and Commonwealth champion Lewis Edmondson.
The WBC heavyweight ‘silver’ bauble will be on the line for the 12-round clash between Okolie, 21-1 (16 KOs), and Lerena, 31-3 (15 KOs). England's Okolie is the WBC No. 1 contender at heavyweight whereas Lerena, 33 and from South Africa, holds the sanctioning body’s lightly regarded bridgerweight title.
It will mark Lerena’s second outing at a British stadium after he was stopped in three eventful rounds by Dubois at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in December 2022. He will be Okolie’s second heavyweight opponent; the 32-year-old Londoner moved up in December to wipe out an overmatched Hussein Muhamed after winning belts at cruiserweight and bridgerweight.
The light heavyweight clash between Lapin and Edmondson, for an IBF regional strap, is scheduled for 10 rounds. Lapin, who was born in Poland, has been a regular fixture on Usyk undercards since he started to train closely with the heavyweight king. Now 11-0 (4 KOs), the 27-year-old Lapin currently sits at No. 14 in the IBF rankings at 175lbs, one place below Edmondson, who hails from Southampton, England.
Edmondson, 29, is also unbeaten in 11 bouts, winning them all, three by KO. He is yet to defend the British title he won when he closely outpointed Dan Azeez last October in a mild upset.
