As 2027 approaches, the standout fight that boxing fans want to see seems to be a potential cruiserweight showdown between David Benavidez and Jai Opetaiaand former two-division world champion Andre Ward has shared his verdict on the proposed bout.

Opetaia defeated the then-reigning WBC cruiserweight champion Noel Mikaelian earlier this month, but he didn’t get his hands on the belt despite the win.

Instead, due to that bout not being sanctioned as a title bout, interim champion Michal Cieslak was elevated to full WBC cruiserweight world champion and ordered to face Benavidez next.

The victor of Benavidez-Cieslak, which is mooted for December 12, will then be ordered to defend all three of their world titles against two-time IBF champion Opetaia, who remains undefeated despite twice losing his status as champion.

Speaking on the All The Smoke Fight podcast, Ward detailed what Opetaia must do in order to get the better of ‘The Mexican Monster’ and claim the WBA, WBO and WBC titles.

“That is the fight that needs to get made in the cruiserweight division, David Benavidez and Jai Opetaia. It takes a lot of skill to slow down an offensive guy like David Benavidez, it’s not just skill but it’s toughness too because he is only going to respect you by hitting him.

“You are going to have to get your respect at a certain point in time, but you also can’t get dragged into throwing 100/110 punches per round or whatever it is that he throws as a cruiserweight.

“You can’t get caught up in that because that’s not your game, but you have got to do enough to let him know that you are here. You have got to land enough to let him know that you are there – and you have got to try and stay up on the points as well,

“I think, for Jai, he has got to find a healthy balance because he has got good legs. He has got to understand where to be and when to be there, what angles to take but then also to instinctively know when to stand and rumble for 5, 10, 15, 20 seconds and give David what he likes and then go back to doing what he does, which is easier said than done.”

With Benavidez-Cieslak set for December, Opetaia is expected to remain on the sidelines until his shot at the winner, with that mandated bout anticipated to take place around Cinco De Mayo next year.

Tim Bradley has accused Shakur Stevenson of avoiding a world champion and, instead, pursuing a much easier fight against Manny Pacquiao.

Indeed, the 47-year-old Pacquiao is a far cry from his former self, despite battling to a draw against then-WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios in July 2025.

In doing so, the Filipino legend proved he can still compete to a certain extent but, more than likely, would fall drastically short against a truly elite-level fighter.

Most would therefore consider him an almighty underdog against Stevenson, who became a four-division world champion by dethroning Teofimo Lopez in January.

Several months later, the American ended up signing with Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing, but is yet to announce a date, location or opponent for his next outing.

According to various reports, however, Stevenson is now angling to face Pacquiao on the undercard of Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.

Reacting to this potential showdown for December 11, Hall of Famer Bradley said on his YouTube channel that, like Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, Stevenson is starting to become overly selective with his opponents.

“This whole generation [of fighters is] straight up soft. I’m thinking you [Stevenson is] growing some big balls – you want to face [WBA world super-lightweight] Gary Antuanne Russell.

“Yeah, you can beat him. But guess what? You want to fight him at 135 or 132[lbs]probably. You not willing to leap out and test your damn self.

“You used to talk so much trash about Tank, but you’re turning right into Tank Davis. This dude is literally trying to make a fight happen just with Manny Pacquiao. Nobody likes this s**t – Manny Pacquiao [is] way over the damn hill.”

Bradley went on to say that Pacquiao is no longer a mainstream attraction, probably doing under 200 thousand pay-per-view buys when he fought Barrios, while Stevenson just sees this as a shot at “free money”.

The stakes have now been raised ahead of the blockbuster Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua showdown.

It was finally officially confirmed today that the two men will meet at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Friday 11 December, with the event broadcast live on Netflix.

It sees the British stars collide having first been linked to a battle with one another over a decade ago, when they both held versions of the world heavyweight title.

It’s been several years since both men were world champions, with Fury losing his WBC heavyweight title to Oleksandr Usyk back in May 2024while Joshua also lost his unified WBA, IBF and WBO belts against the Ukrainian back in September 2021.

Usyk went on to become undisputed heavyweight champion but no longer holds any of the belts after vacating his remaining titles earlier this year, and it seems that Fury and Joshua are going to benefit from that decision.

That is because it has been reported by The Ring’s Mike Coppinger that the vacant WBA ‘Super’ title is set to be on the line in the Fury vs. Joshua fight.

“Breaking: Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua will fight for the WBA ‘super’ heavyweight title, @ringmagazine has learned. Fury and AJ will both be looking to regain a heavyweight title. Usyk remains The Ring champ while Murat Gassiev is the current holder of the WBA’s ‘regular’ heavyweight title.”

Murat Gassiev became WBA Regular champion with a knockout win over Kubrat Pulev in December, before making a defence of that title against Peter Kadiru in July.

It was initially believed that the WBA had elevated him to full champion after Usyk vacated the belt, but it appears Gassiev will now have to play second fiddle to the Fury vs. Joshua victor.