Now, the WBC has decided to give David Benavidez a two-week extension and ask him to choose between 175 pounds and 168 pounds of super middleweight. For Benavidez, the time of choice has come!
In the middle of the month, Benavidez moved up to 175 pounds to defeat veteran Oleksandr Grozdik for the WBC interim title and a mandatory challenge against the winner of the October Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol.
168 lbs or 175 lbs: The Tough Choice for a Glutton
Benavidez is reportedly not just content to be the WBC light heavyweight forced challenger, but also wants the WBC to grant him super middleweight mandatory challenger status with the aim of challenging the 168-pound undisputed supremacy of Carneiro Alvarez.
If Benavidez gets his way, he'll have two "battlegrounds" at 168 and 175 pounds, waiting for the most suitable match to fall to him. Benavidez understandably thinks that even if one of the divisions can't achieve his goals, he can choose the other.
However, Benavidez's dominance of the two-division forced challenger position makes him look insatiable, and in the words of the media: Benavidez is munching on filet mignon to satisfy his appetite while instead letting other contenders taste crumbs, which is a question of fairness.
Benavidez's decision to stay at 175 pounds or return to 168 pounds will be a tough choice. At the moment, it seems that the WBC didn't agree to his request to juggle both classes as a forced challenger, so whether he chooses 175 pounds or 168 pounds is not ideal for Benavidez.
Alvarez has said he wants $200 million against Benavidez, and while it's more of a sky-high asking price or even a joke, Alvarez's reasoning is this: why be forced to fight a big guy who is "dressed up"?
If Benavidez relinquishes the 175-pound mandatory challenge, the worst outcome is that he won't be able to get a shot against Alvarez when he returns to 168 pounds, and if he does, Benavidez will lose money.
The risk of being greedy for more than you can chew
If Benavidez decides to stay at 175 pounds, his career could be in jeopardy because he lacks enough strength to compete against Bivol and Beterbiev.
Judging by the 37-year-old veteran Grozdick, Benavidez is not comfortable with 175 pounds due to his power and physique being compromised in his division.
As we all know, Benavidez was invincible at 168 pounds, but this is largely due to his strong physique, after reluctantly marching to 175 pounds, Benavidez's physical advantage was seriously weakened, and when facing Grozdijk, Benavidez relied more on technique and speed to maneuver with his opponent, which seemed a little embarrassing, and when it came to technique, he only played 15 games in his amateur period, and it was difficult to compete with Bivol and Beterbiev in this regard.
Benavidez's 175-pound loss to Bivol and Beterbiev would probably never have happened, so Benavidez could only hope that Alvarez would choose him, but no one knows how sure he is. In terms of timing, Alvarez should be sure of his next opponent in the next month or so, but Benavidez can't wait, because the decision of 175 pounds or 168 pounds will be made in 2 weeks, so it will be an interesting question for Benavidez to decide in the end, and we can see what his answer is.