Unified featherlight heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev is willing to talk about a possible fight with Canelo Alvarez or David Benavidez only after his upcoming fight with Dmitry Bivol.

Thirty-nine-year-old Beterbiev of Russia is preparing to face his compatriot Bivol for the undisputed 175-pound championship on Saturday in Riyad, Saudi Arabia.

Despite considering future fights with Alvarez and Benavidez, Beterbiev is only focused on defeating Bivol.

“We’ll see. Let’s talk about it later,” Beterbiev said in response to a possible fight with Benavidez in the future. “Honestly, I’ve never seen him fight. I never watched his fights because I’m not a boxing fan. When I sign a contract to fight a boxer, I only focus on that fighter. I’m not the type of person who wants to watch everyone fight.

Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KO) will have his three featherlight heavyweight titles on the line – WBC, IBF and WBO – when he goes head-to-head with Bivol in a highly anticipated clash. If the unified champion wins, Beterbiev could face either Benavidez or Alvarez in another thrilling fight.

While Benavidez is coming off a decision win over Oleksandr Gvozdyk in his debut fight at 175 pounds, Alavrez lost to Bivol two years ago in his second featherlight heavyweight fight. Before meeting Bivol, Alvarez won his first fight at 175 pounds against Sergei Kovalev for the WBO championship.

Commenting on a possible fight with unified 168-pound champion Alvarez, Beterbiev said it was a completely different matter.

“It’s a different movie. We need to watch this movie first and then we can talk about it. I never predict the next fight. We’ll see. I’m not one to predict my future fights. I’m a elementary boxer and I try to do my best. I will do my best.”

Benavidez announced on Instagram on Tuesday that David Benavidez will face David Morrell in a high-stakes airy heavyweight fight.

ESPN sources say the 175-pound fight will be the main event of the PBC pay-per-view card and is scheduled to take place on January 25 in Las Vegas.

According to sources, Benavidez (29-0, 24 KO) was in talks to fight side challenger Jesse Hart on December 14 for the Gervonta Davis-Lamont Roach title fight, but has secured a much more compelling fight.

Benavidez has been chasing boxing’s biggest star, Canelo Álvarez, for years. Álvarez showed no interest in such a fight, so this summer Benavidez jumped from 168 to 175 pounds, beating Oleksandr Gvozdyk by decision.

Benavidez, 27, who fights out of Miami, is a former two-time 168-pound titleholder. He is ranked No. 3 at 175 pounds.

Now Benavidez is prepared for the toughest test of his career. Cuban Morrell (11-0, 9 KO) also moved up to airy heavyweight this summer. In August, he had the toughest fight of his career after a unanimous decision over Radivoje Kalajdzic.

Morrell, 26, is ranked No. 4 in the airy heavyweight division by ESPN. Two of ESPN’s top 175-pound fighters, Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol, will fight Saturday on ESPN+ for the undisputed airy heavyweight title.

The winner of Benavidez-Morrell will be lined up to fight the winner.

A classic clash reminiscent of Clash of Titans will headline “EQC Fight Night” presented by Toro Promotions, Inc. and Whitfield Haydon Boxing on Saturday evening, October 19, at the EQC Event Center at Tacoma’s famed Emerald Queen Casino. Washington.

6′ 4″, 290-pound Kinsley “The Black Lion” Ibeh (12-2-1, 10 KO) will face 6′ 8″, 260-pound Jack “The Outlaw” May (10-0, 9 KO) in the main event, a 10-round main event for the vacant Latino World Boxing Council (WBC) Silver Championship.

Ibeh, a Nigerian native who fights out of Phoenix (AZ), is a former college and Canadian Football League player, as well as the cousin of notorious retired boxer Ike Ibeabuchi (20-0, 15 KO). Ibeh is on an eight-game winning streak since losing to then-rising star Jared Anderson 7-0 in 2021. Ibeh’s last action took place on June 15, when he stopped Juan Torres in the second round, also at the Emerald Queen Casino gala.

May, fighting in Chino Hills, California, won ten in a row, nine of which were decided by knockouts. May is a combat sports athlete who also boxed and fought bare-knuckled. May’s last fight was a first-round technical knockout of John Shipman on August 29 in Costa Mesa, California.

“They are both real fighters,” said matchmaker Whit Haydon. “When the fight was proposed, all they asked was when and where and that they would arrive with bells on. The place is almost sold out, so gigantic Northwest fans, and believe me when I say they are the best, will be able to enjoy the sights and sounds.”

Ibeh and May are part of Toro’s growing stable of solid heavyweights, along with Ukrainian Olympian Tsotne “Mr. T” Tsotne (10-0, 7 KO), Alexander “The Great” Flores (19-5-1, 17 KO) and Dante Stone (17-1, 11 KO). But unlike other promoters, Toro doesn’t bother matching his fighters like Ibeh and May, and Tsotne recently defeated Flores by a 10-round unanimous decision.