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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Promoter Eddie Hearn is working behind the scenes to lock down a date for the heavyweight debut of Oleksandr Usyk.
Last year, Usyk unified the entire cruiserweight division by capturing the WBA, IBF, WBO, WBC world titles.
Earlier this week, he made his move in weight official by dropping the WBA title - as the sanctioning body ordered him to make a mandatory defense against Denis Lebedev.
Usyk will make his debut in the heavyweight division against battle tested Carlos Takam.
Takam gave a stiff test to current unified champion Anthony Joshua and former beltholder Joseph Parker. He was battering Dereck Chisora, before the British boxer caught him cold in the second half for a very dramatic knockout win.
Last December, Takam came back in force with a knockout of Senad Gashi at the O2.
Usyk vs. Takam was going to take place on May 18th in Chicago, but now Hearn is moving the date. He doesn't want to go head to head with WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, who returns on May 18th against Dominic Breazeale at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Usyk-Takam will be carried by streaming service DAZN, while Wilder-Breazeale will be televised by Showtime.
Usyk's next fight will now land on May 17 or possibly May 25.
“Usyk has now moved up to heavyweight, he’ll be fighting Carlos Takam,” Hearn said to IFL TV.
“We’re just sorting out the date, we were going to go for May 18th but now [Deontay] Wilder’s going on that date, we don’t want to clash with that show. We’re just tinkering, May 17th or possibly the 25th. That will all be decided by Monday at the latest.
“It will be heavyweight, it will be Carlos Takam next for Usyk.”
