Formerly a bogeyman in the super middleweight division, David Benavidez has become a wanted man since announcing he was fighting at cruiserweight.

After winning the 168- and 175-pound belts, Benavidez made an ambitious jump to the cruiserweight division last month, where he had one of the performances of the year and sent unified WBA and WBO world champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez in six rounds.

Now it appears that Benavidez will remain at cruiserweight rather than return to the lightweight heavyweight scene, at least for his next fight.

Despite calls for the 29-year-old to fight Jai Opetaia, the 29-year-old appears to be prioritizing his charge towards the undisputed throne, with a clash with WBC world champion Noel Mikaelian close to finalization. If he wins there, there are more fights in the division, including Opetaia, which is worth mentioning.

After seeing Benavidez make his cruiserweight debut, former WBO world champion Chris Billam-Smith – who lost the belt to Ramirez in 2024 – added his name to the mix, saying: Inside the Ring that the “Mexican Monster” segment may turn out to be a “firefight.”

“Obviously you always wonder how you’re going to beat these kinds of guys, I said before [Zurdo] fight, I said, “if he wins, me against him will be a close fight and very fan-friendly.”

“He’s a fantastic player, obviously he went through the weights and put on a great performance there.”

With Benavidez-Mikaelian appearing to be next, Opetaia will likely be looking to defend his Zuffa Boxing cruiserweight title internally – with Billam-Smith being the standout candidate for the away corner.

With that in mind, “The Gentleman” said he sees the fight with Benavidez as a tougher test than the fight with his promotional stablemate.

“Benavidez would be harder to beat [than Opetaia]for me stylistically.”

The Benavidez-Mikaelian fight is reportedly scheduled for November, with Viddal Riley scheduled to headline Misfits Pro in August before next fighting for the remaining vacant IBF cruiserweight title.

At 23 years elderly, Hackett (12-1, 9 KO) will gain significant experience against one of the most battle-hardened veterans in the sport. The Washington native has won three straight fights since suffering the only defeat of his career in December 2024 – a 10-round split decision to Jose Roman Vazquez.

The fight also marks a move up to middleweight for Hackett, who has spent most of his career at junior middleweight.

Derevyanchenko (16-6, 11 KO), now 40, remains a respected name despite defeats in two of his last four fights dating back to 2023. The Ukrainian veteran shared the ring with some of the best fighters of his era, including Gennadiy Golovkin, Daniel Jacobs, Jermall Charlo, Carlos Adames and Jaime Munguia.

Initial reports of the bout surfaced around June 10-11, when Ring Magazine reported that the fight would be added to the Zuffa Boxing card. Other media outlets soon followed, describing the contest as agreed in principle but not yet finalized.

Now it has been officially confirmed that Hackett will have the opportunity to achieve the most recognizable victory of his career against veterans who have competed at the world level for years. A victory would solidify his status as one of boxing’s rising prospects while giving him a notable name on his resume.

Shakur Stevenson has named the fighter most likely to beat Naoya Inoue, who remains undefeated after becoming the undisputed two-division champion.

“The Monster” unified all four major belts at 118 pounds before moving up to super bantamweight, where he made seven straight defenses of his undisputed crown.

His last fight against three-division world champion Junto Nakatani ended with a unanimous decision victory in a sold-out Tokyo Dome last month.

That’s why many would consider Inoue the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the sport, and the Japanese star has also won world titles at flyweight and super flyweight.

However, at 33 years elderly, it is arduous to predict how long he will remain at an elite level, especially if his next assignment is against Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez.

The 26-year-old American became the three-division world champion last week, dethroning Antonio Vargas after a sixth-round stoppage at 118 pounds.

As the newly crowned WBA bantamweight champion, there is now talk of him either unifying the division – perhaps against WBO champion Christian Medina – or moving up to 122 pounds in preparation for a potential showdown with Inoue next year.

Either way, Stevenson said Agnew Podcast that he thinks Rodriguez has the best chance of beating Inoue.

“I think it’s true. If anyone can do it – with that kind of skill, I think ‘Bam’ can do it.”

Stevenson then admitted that in the amateur competition he had the opportunity to experience the fight of his life against Rodriguez’s last opponent.

He ultimately scored a split decision against Vargas, who went on to compete in the 2016 Olympics and showed, even against “Bam,” that he was capable of causing problems for elite fighters.