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.

Ryan Garcia posted the following on social media today: “Case dismissed” thanking his lawyer, Michael Goldstein. This is related to Garcia’s accusations of vandalism last June in connection with events at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Beverly Hills.

This isn’t the case fans were hoping he would get fired. They are more interested in Devin Haney’s lawsuit against Ryan Garcia for battery and fraud in connection with their April fight in which Kingry tested positive for PEDs.

It’s still unclear whether Haney and his dad, Bill Haney, will pursue the case to the end, hoping the verdict will net them a windfall. This could make staging a rematch problematic if Ryan loses or wins. Would Haney be content to fight Ryan again if the lawsuit was unsuccessful?

Given Bill Haney’s upbeat attitude and Garcia’s request to submit to a doping test within 48 hours for his rematch with Devin (31-0, 15 KO) next, this could be seen as a softening on his part regarding steep court proceedings.

This would be costly and could jeopardize Haney’s chances for a lucrative rematch with Ryan in 2025. A rematch is the best way for Haney to make millions and get back to where he was before his loss to Ryan earlier this year.

If Haney wins the competition, we could see a trilogy if it brings in a lot of PPV buys. Considering how much attention their fight later received, it’s safe and sound to predict that their rematch will generate massive PPV buys, perhaps even bigger than Ryan’s 2023 fight with Gervonta Davis.

Bill Haney would need to up his game to generate interest, as Ryan can’t single-handedly advance the rematch, and Devin obviously won’t be much assist. He’s better off when he doesn’t talk.

CASE DENIED

Thank you Michael Goldstein

The best lawyer in the world!!!! pic.twitter.com/oTqCFmwMvi

— RYAN GARCIA (@RyanGarcia) October 8, 2024

Do you really want me to kick Devin’s ass again?????????

— RYAN GARCIA (@RyanGarcia) October 8, 2024