After capturing the WBO and WBA cruiserweight world titles, David Benavidez now appears intent on returning to the light heavyweight division to challenge the number one fighter in the category, Dmitrii Bivol. Not everyone, however, believes that this is the right move. According to Roy Jones Jr, for example, Benavidez should take advantage of the momentum and immediately pursue a fight against heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Here is what Jones said on an episode of All The Smoke Fight, addressing Benavidez directly:
“If Canelo’s not fighting you, forget everybody else and go straight to [Oleksandr] Usyk. Don’t play with anybody else. The Usyk fight is one of the biggest fights of this decade. Take it while it’s hot.”
According to Jones, facing other opponents first — such as former cruiserweight world champion Jai Opetaia — would be a strategic mistake:
“It is not smart for David Benavidez to give Jai Opetaia a shot at his name right now. You go up and fight Usyk while you’re hot and it makes sense. You can always come back down and fight Opetaia. If you lose to Usyk, the Opetaia fight is still there. If you lose to Opetaia, the Usyk fight is gone. Why would you go play with a guy who’s just as dangerous as Usyk but not as well-known as Usyk? That’s kind of crazy.”
Some observers pointed out that Jones is giving Benavidez advice that he himself likely would not have followed during his own career. In 2003, when the Pensacola legend moved up from light heavyweight to heavyweight in order to win a world title in boxing’s premier division, he carefully selected the most manageable champion available, namely Puerto Rican John Ruiz, rather than facing the top heavyweight of that era, Britain’s Lennox Lewis.