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.
By Rick Reeno
BoxingScene.com was flooded with emails when we posted the announcement that a deal was struck for Amir Khan to move up in weight and challenge WBA junior welterweight champion Andreas Kotelnik on June 27 in the UK.
Last week I reported that a deal was struck, between Golden Boy Promotions and Universum, for Kotelnik to defend his title against rising star Victor Ortiz. That fight was also scheduled to take place on June 27, with the Staples Center in Los Angeles playing host and HBO televising the event.
I briefly spoke to Ortiz’s co-manager, Shelly Finkel, who advised me that a deal was indeed reached for Kotelnik to defend the title against his fighter. Because there wasn’t a signed contract, there was nothing preventing Universum from going in a different direction when Khan’s promoter Frank Warren came to the table with a higher offer.
“We had a date but because they didn’t have signed contract, Warren came in with a larger offer and they pulled out with us,” Finkel told BoxingScene.com
The announcement of Khan-Kotelnik was unexpected for a lot of people. When BoxingScene spoke with Ortiz last Saturday in Austin, Texas, he was under the impression that Kotelnik was going to be his opponent for the June date. At the moment, Ortiz is still scheduled to return to HBO with June 27 as the working date. There is a minor possibility the date could change.
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