Shakur Stevenson insisted that David Benavidez fight for the “best fight in boxing” instead of defending his WBO and WBA cruiserweight titles.

Last week, “The Mexican Monster” became world champion in three divisions. dethroning Gilberto Ramirez after a penalty stoppage in the sixth round in his first appearance at 200 pounds.

As a result, Benavidez entered the conversation about a fight with former cruiserweight world champion Jai Opetaia and possibly even Oleksandr Usyk.

Moving up to heavyweight or even staying at 200 pounds would certainly be a bold move, especially considering Benavidez admitted he weighed just 202 pounds on the night of his triumph over Ramirez.

Based on this information, four-time world champion Stevenson stated that he would prefer to see the 29-year-old drop back down to 175 pounds.

After all, he holds the WBC airy heavyweight title, which he won after Dmitry Bivol vacated the belt following an undisputed victory over Artur Beterbiev in February 2025.

This was because the Russian opted to undergo back surgery rather than face his then mandatory rival, which ultimately led to Benavidez’s promotion from “interim” to full world champion.

But now, as Bivol prepares to face mandatory challenger Michael Eifert on May 30, he may soon want to become a two-time undisputed king.

According to Stevenson, this is the best-case scenario Agnew Podcast that he hopes Benavidez will compete at his more natural weight.

“I don’t think I want to see him fight at 200 pounds. I’d rather see him fight [at 175lbs against] Buffalo [or] Beterbiev.”

“I think so [Bivol-Benavidez is] the best fight in boxing.”

Although the sounds of a potential Usyk fight seem to be getting louder, it is worth emphasizing that Benavidez and Bivol have already started preliminary talks.

Shawn Porter gave an straightforward assessment of how Errol Spence Jr, his former foe, will fare against Tim Tszyu at 158 ​​pounds.

The two opponents will face each other on July 25 in Australia, with Spence making his first appearance since a ninth-round loss to Terence Crawford in 2023.

Previously, many believed that the American was capable of remaining undefeated, only to suffer a one-sided defeat at the hands of “Bud”.

As a result, Spence was vacated of the IBF, WBC and WBA welterweight world titles, which he had won by dethroning Kell Brook, Porter and Yordenis Ugas, respectively.

Meanwhile, Tszyu has two routine points wins to his name after losing in the seventh round to Sebastian Fundora last July.

Their first meeting saw Fundora take a split decision in 2024, before Tszyu suffered a punishing third-round defeat to Bakhram Murtazaliev later that year.

The 31-year-old therefore hopes to regain his position at world level, but first he must clash with Spence on he reported 4 pounds above his usual fighting weight.

As someone who lost a split decision to Spence in 2019, Porter believes the 36-year-old has the ability to thwart Tszyu’s ambitions to become a two-time world champion.

I keep talking his YouTube channelPorter dismissed the impact a three-year hiatus might have on “The Truth.”

“I tend to believe Errol Spence beats Tim Tszyu. Early [fighting] Terence Crawford, I feel like he would beat Tim Tszyu.

“I don’t think much has changed in that time. He’s taken a huge amount of time off, [but] he says he was just waiting [for] coming itch [back]”

At this point in his career, it should be compelling to see what kind of threat Spence can pose to the middleweight and super welterweight divisions.

Junto Nakatani is reportedly scheduled to undergo surgery this week to repair a left orbital fracture he suffered in his loss to Naoya Inoue on May 2, which could delay a rematch between the two undefeated stars until 2027.

InsideRingShow on Monday reported that Nakatani’s coach, Rudy Hernandez, confirmed the injury to The Ring reporter Mike Coppinger. The fracture reportedly occurred delayed in the fight after an accidental clash of heads in the 10th round, and Inoue later attacked the damaged area during the final rounds.

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Last update: 2026/05/11 at 16:03