It seems that David Benavidez will continue to wait for an opportunity to face Dmitry Bivol, as although there were expectations that there would be a fight between the two with the four 175-pound belts at stake, that fight seems to be a long way off.
Benavidez, the WBC and WBA interim champion, who moved up to the 175-pound division in search of the undisputed title, was planning to face the Russian after he won the rematch against Artur Beterbiev and became the undisputed light heavyweight champion
However, according to Turki Alalshikh, Bivol would not be looking for a fight against the “Mexican Monster”, as his priority is the trilogy against Beterbiev.
Essentially Sports details that after their rematch, the WBC ordered Bivol to defend his titles against Benavidez, giving him a deadline of April 8 to reach an agreement
And although there were rumors that they were close to reaching an agreement, it seems that this fight will not take place.
Boxing journalist Dan Rafael debunked those rumors, detailing that even the mandatory purse bid between Bivol and Benavidez has been hindered. “The WBC’s standard 75-25 purse split was set for April 8 for Bivol-Benavidez,” he shared on X.
“Benavidez’s team requested a 55-45 split in favor of Bivol. The WBC did not grant it, but agreed to modify the split, as permitted by the rules, to 60-40 in favor of Bivol,” the boxing specialist detailed
When asked by a netizen if the fight against Benavidez would take place, he said: “Not necessarily. It’s just what the WBC ordered and what Benavidez’s team wants. Bivol has other options”.
Despite the WBC’s call for a fight between the two, Eddie Hearn made it clear that Bivol is not considering a fight with Benavidez anytime soon, but rather endorsed the idea of the trilogy against Beterbiev.
“We want to keep all the belts,” Hearn told Boxing King Media
And they are willing to sacrifice one of the belts in their quest to follow Alalshikh’s plan for the trilogy.
If Bivol vacates the WBC belt, Benavidez could fight for the title or be instantly elevated to undisputed champion as interim champion.
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