David Benavidez is still waiting for a chance at a big fight and even though the World Boxing Council (WBC) has already designated him as a mandatory challenger for the light heavyweight division, he has not yet reached an agreement to fight the undisputed champion of the division, Russian Dmitry Bivol.
In fact, negotiations appear to be stalled between the two fighters, so the former Mexican champion Juan Manuel Marquez demanded that the WBC strip the Russian champion if he does not accept the challenge against Benavidez.
The reasons to organize Bivol vs Benavidez
In an interview with ProBox TV, ‘Dinamita‘ asked that the status of the Mexican Monster be respected and that he only has two options: accept or hand over his WBC belt, as part of the rules established by the organization itself
“I hope that this is the way it is taken, it is the regulations. Benavidez was promoted and removed to tell him ‘I’m going to give you the opportunity’ and I think he earned it. He beat David Morrell, he beat Oleksandr Gvozdyk, other great fighters and I think in that sense he deserves the opportunity. He beat Demetrius Andrade also, I think he has beaten good fighters,” said Marquez
Later, the Mexican said that he would like to see a battle between Bivol and Benavidez, as both have faced great rivals and would offer a high-level fight. On the other hand, Marquez insisted that the Russian should be stripped of the WBC title if he does not take the fight with David.
“I would like to see the fight between Bivol and Benavidez. I think the opportunity is there and if not, then the WBC has to enforce its rules. If Bivol does not want to fight Benavidez, who is his official challenger, they should say: ‘You know what, Mr. Bivol, we are going to have to strip you of this championship because your official challenger deserves the opportunity,'” he concluded.
Regarding the status of the negotiations, last March the WBC announced that both fighters were in a free negotiation period and, if no agreement is reached, a purse bid will be held on April 8.
Another option is for Bivol’s team to offer Benavidez a ‘step aside’ fee so that they can choose another challenger without being sanctioned by the WBC.
Read the full article here
