David Benavidez is contemporary out of concepts. After grabbing the WBC interim tremendous middleweight title in 2020, the 27-year-old was satisfied that Canelo Alvarez would haven’t any alternative however to battle him. That helpful trinket, nonetheless, has executed nothing to position Benavidez within the place he needed.
So, regardless of being the WBC’s number-one contender, Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) figured that it made extra sense to knock off a couple of prime names. Nonetheless, even with wins over David Lemieux, Caleb Plant, and Demetrius Andrade, Alvarez has been lukewarm on the concept of dealing with him.
Andy Ruiz, from a distance, has watched as Benavidez’s callouts have fallen on extraneous ears. From his standpoint, the previous two-time tremendous middleweight champ has earned his stripes.
“I believe Benavidez deserves a shot,” Ruiz advised a gaggle of reporters lately.
If he needed, Benavidez may have continued to play the ready sport. As an alternative, he determined that it was in his finest curiosity to place Alvarez within the rearview and transfer ahead, each actually and bodily.
Just some brief months in the past, Benavidez kissed the tremendous middleweight division goodbye and formally made his gentle heavyweight debut, choosing a large choice win over Oleksandr Gvozdyk. He’ll now must determine whether or not or not he’ll proceed his profession in his newfound residence or make a return to acquainted territory.
Whereas he continues to weigh his choices, Ruiz (35-2, 22 KOs) believes that Benavidez will finally stomp by not solely the sunshine heavyweight division but in addition the cruiser and heavyweight battlegrounds.
It is likely to be some time earlier than that really takes place, however Ruiz isn’t being myopic. If and when Benavidez does make the transfer, the previous unified heavyweight champ is hoping that they’ll get it on.
“I believe David can do something as a result of he’s huge, he’s robust. He’s tremendous younger, he’s tremendous, tremendous younger. If he does go to heavyweight, hopefully, he provides me the chance to battle too.”
First issues first, nevertheless, Ruiz is placing the ending touches on an arduous coaching camp. In only a few brief weeks, he’ll stand throughout the ring from good buddy Jarrell Miller, and try to do his finest to drag off the win.
A matchup with Benavidez isn’t one which Ruiz is completely fixated on. He is aware of that the 27-year-old nonetheless has work to do within the lower-weight lessons. However, by way of the so-called measurement benefit that Ruiz, or any heavyweight for that matter, would take pleasure in over Benavidez, that assumption is likely to be a bit overblown.
“Yeah, he can,” defined Ruiz when requested if Benavidez may placed on sufficient weight. “If he’s strolling round, he’s in all probability at 200 kilos anyway. I’m fairly positive he feels robust. He’s a very gifted child.”
