David Benavidez already has another plan in mind if his showdown with Jai Opetaia doesn’t happen next year.
A match-up between cruiserweight stars Benavidez and Opetaia has been touted over the past few months, with those talks only intensifying after Opetaia stopped Noel Mikaelian inside nine rounds last month, before facing off with Benavidez in the ring.
First, ‘The Mexican Monster’ is set to face Michal Cieslak in December, looking to add the WBC cruiserweight title to the WBO and WBA belts that he captured with a win over Gilberto Ramirez back in May.
A victory there could pave the way for the major clash against Opetaia over Cinco de Mayo weekend, but it has now been reported that the New Zealander is in negotiations for a heavyweight bout with Deontay Wilder on the Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua card in December.
Benavidez has now reacted to those claims, telling Inside The Ring that if an Opetaia fight can’t happen, he will instead be interested in moving up to heavyweight to take on Oleksandr Usyk.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen. If Jai Opetaia is looking to fight Wilder then I’ll take my business elsewhere, and if we can’t get that fight on Cinco de Mayo with Jai Opetaia, then we’ll do Usyk.”
Usyk was undisputed at cruiserweight before moving up to the banner division and becoming a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion, but he vacated his unified titles earlier this year and looks to be set for one final bout before retirement.
It was believed that Wilder was the most likely option for that farewell, but if ‘The Bronze Bomber’ does indeed go ahead with a fight against Opetaia, it could open the door for a stunning battle between Benavidez and Usyk.
