David Benavidez just left gold behind to chase silver. The WBC light heavyweight champion dominated Anthony Yarde last Saturday night at the ANB Arena, Riyadh, via 7th-round stoppage. After the win, people expected him to call out someone like unified light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol or even Artur Beterbiev. And for good reason.

After all, Yarde had given a tough fight to Artur Beterbiev in their January 2023 fight. However, Benavidez had other things in mind. During the post-fight interview, ‘The Mexican Monster’ revealed he will be moving up to the cruiserweight division to face Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramírez on May 2. Despite that, Beterbiev reacted to Benavidez’s win with a proposal. 

Seasoned journalist backs David Benavidez vs. Artur Beterbiev

“All you ask me about Benavidez-Yarde. I saw it. Nothing new for me. We two could have something better, isn’t it?” Beterbiev wrote on X. The comment comes at a time when the Russian light heavyweight was expected to face Dmitry Bivol in a trilogy fight. However, negotiations for that bout have stalled, and the match-up isn’t moving forward.

With Bivol seemingly exploring other options instead of committing to a rubber match, Beterbiev may now be looking elsewhere as well. Ring Magazine’s Mike Coppinger backed the idea, publicly supporting the potential showdown. “[I] would much rather see Benavidez fight Beterbiev than ‘Zurdo,’ Coppinger wrote on X. 

“We all know what will happen in the Zurdo fight. Beterbiev-Benavidez [is] one of the best fights you can make in boxing,” the journalist added. Not to mention, a potential win over Benavidez—and the WBC belt—would also strengthen Beterbiev’s case for the awaited trilogy with Bivol, which will give the boxing world another undisputed light heavyweight champion.

It’s also worth noting that despite Benavidez’s announcement, the ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez fight isn’t as secure as it first appeared. Coppinger also reported that Ramirez has been matched with Robin Safar for his WBA and WBO cruiserweight world title defense on January 16 in Palm Desert, California.

Naturally, Ramirez must win that fight to preserve any future matchup with David Benavidez. Nonetheless, after Coppinger’s tweet endorsing Benavidez vs. Beterbiev, fans quickly echoed their support for the explosive pairing, sharing disappointment over Benavidez’s move.

Benavidez faces the same accusations he once leveled at Canelo Alvarez

Fans quickly flooded the comment section with opinions. One user doubled down on Coppinger’s comment. “Would rather see David fight Artur a million times. The Zurdo fight doesn’t make sense to me personally,” the user commented. If Benavidez beats Ramirez, he could then fight other title holders to unify the division.

Meanwhile, this user accused Benavidez of avoiding tough fights to make more money. “Benavidez goes for lower risk, higher $ fight,” the user commented. Notably, this is precisely what Benavidez accused Canelo Alvarez of—justifiably. However, the Ramirez fight is unlikely to net Benavidez more than fighting Beterbiev, who is a much bigger challenge.

Meanwhile, this user came up with a solution. “Still a lot of time from now to May, [David Benavidez] vs [Artur Beterbiev] should be set up for late February or mid-March next year,” the user commented. While possible, the question is: Will Benavidez risk a loss before fighting a champion? Not to mention, will Ramirez want that fight if Benavidez loses? 

Even the next user was on board for pairing Benavidez and Beterbiev before Benavidez’s move to cruiserweight. “Me too. That Yarde fight wasn’t [anything], so Benavidez could fight Beterbiev in January. That could mess up the money, tho,” the user commented. November is almost over, Beterbiev might not agree to fight in less than two months, if the fight happens in January. 

While everyone was against Benavidez’s move to cruiserweight, this user had other ideas. “I get it, the Beterbiev fight is better, but this is ridiculous. Zurdo is [a] legit problem, and we also have never seen David at Cw,” the user commented. One could argue that Ramirez is a champion at cruiserweight because of a lack of tough competition. He hasn’t fought Jai Opetaia, and Oleksandr Usyk left the division long ago. 

From the looks of things, the public would much rather see David Benavidez fight Artur Beterbiev. However, the decision ultimately lies with Benavidez. If he is willing to leave the division, he probably will. What do you think he should do?