Roy Jones Jr urged David Benavidez to follow in his footsteps rather than fight Dmitry Bivol in an undisputed lithe heavyweight clash.

The “Mexican Monster” appears the sixth round ended with a victory over Gilberto Ramirezwhom he dethroned earlier this month to become three-division world champion.

However, despite winning the WBO and WBA cruiserweight titles, Benavidez expressed interest in returning to 175 pounds, where he still holds the WBC belt.

That would mean chasing unified champion Bivol, who must first defeat IBF mandatory challenger Michael Eifert on May 30.

The Russian hasn’t fought since he overtook Artur Beterbiev in February 2025, when he exacted revenge by majority decision and became the undisputed king.

Bivol then vacated the WBC title after deciding to undergo back surgery, which allowed Benavidez to be promoted from “interim” to full champion.

But rather than return to lithe heavyweight, Jones would prefer to see Benavidez test his skills at heavyweight, as he did against John Ruiz in 2003.

In a conversation with professional boxing fans, the pound-for-pound legend said that a fight with Oleksandr Usyk, who still holds the WBC, IBF and WBA titles, is the only fight that makes sense for him.

“This is the only fight for him right now and the only fight I want to see him in.

“You beat everyone in every other category, [so] go upstairs and fight Usyk. This is the best fight for him.”

𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧’𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗢𝗡𝗟𝗬 𝗙𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗜 𝗪𝗔𝗡𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗦𝗘𝗘 𝗛𝗜𝗠 𝗜𝗡” 🤷‍♂️

‼️ @RealRoyJonesJr CALLS @Benavidez300 fight @usykaa 👀 pic.twitter.com/pcSxWeol3n

— Professional boxing fans (@ProBoxingFans) May 14, 2026

While Benavidez has expressed a desire to challenge Usyk at heavyweight, he has said he won’t be ramping up his weight gain anytime soon and is therefore much more likely to receive his next assignment against Bivol.

It then remains to be seen whether Usyk will stay in the sport long enough to face the 29-year-old, which could end up fighting another heavyweight champion.

The weigh-ins quickly turned tense when Albright apparently sent a message directly to Davis during their bout.

“Be a professional,” Albright said in a recording later released by DAZN Boxing.

The lack of weight immediately sparked a backlash online, as Davis has dealt with weight issues before. Last year, Davis lost his WBO lightweight title after losing more than four pounds ahead of his scheduled defense against Edwin De Los Santos.

Friday also marked the second time Davis has failed to make weight in his last three fights.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum admitted that Davis was having difficulty gaining 140 pounds and suggested that the problem may still exist.

“Well, obviously he has issues at 140,” Arum told Fighthype. “The problem is the next category is seven pounds. That’s a gigantic difference.”

Arum also compared Friday’s setback to the loss of Davis, who was previously more than four pounds compact before his canceled fight with De Los Santos last year.

“It was inexcusable because he was five pounds overweight,” Arum said.

“He is now 0.1 weight off which he will improve and get down to 140 or less.”

Keyshawn was later asked by DAZN what he told Albright during Friday’s matchup.

“I didn’t say anything,” Davis said. “That’s what I do. I knock people out.”

When asked what kind of performance he expected in the rematch, Keyshawn gave a compact answer.

“An unexpected spectacle.”

There was already bad blood in the rematch after their first fight in October 2023 was later changed to a no-contest after Keyshawn tested positive for marijuana. Their original meeting initially resulted in Keyshawn winning by a majority vote.

Dave Allen kept his word and will enter the fight with Filip Hrgovic in decent shape.

The fan-favorite Briton has been emotional throughout his career, often revealing after defeats that he could have trained harder and prepared better.

This weekend he will be looking to claim the biggest scalp of his campaign in Hrgovica world-class, well-trained and sturdy Croatian, whose only defeat was against the up-to-date world champion Daniel Dubois.

Although he still considers the main event at London’s O2 Arena against Lucas Browne to be the biggest achievement of his career, Allen will be fighting in front of 10,000 fans at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster, and the importance of this event has not crossed his mind.

He clearly has a tough trainer, tipping the scales at 248.8 pounds. This is an impressive drop compared to the 271 he weighed in his last appearance – in February he defeated Karim Berredjem in the first round. In fact, this is the lowest weight Allen has registered since his 2019 loss to David Price.

Speaking about the transformation, “Dazzling” Dave said:

“I’ve just eaten less chocolate, less sweets… People talk about sacrifices but I’m actually very elated. I spend a lot of time with my family, my children and boxing for a living. Everyone here doing a 9-5, it’s a sacrifice. It wouldn’t be fair to talk about sacrifice, I live my dreams every day. Sometimes it’s difficult in the gym, sometimes I feel like eating something, but I’ll go out in front of 10,000 people in Doncaster against one of the best heavyweights in the world. world. It was my dream and I will make it come true soon.

Regardless of his shape, most consider Hrgović too gigantic a mountain for Allen to climb. He is aware of this but believes it could cause one of the worst disturbances ever seen on British shores.

“He’s a great fighter, but I’m not afraid of him. He’s been trying to tell me all week that I don’t want to look at him. I don’t care about Filip Hrgovic. It’s a boxing match.

“On paper I shouldn’t even be in the ring with him, but I feel tomorrow at Donny’s will be a special night where I’ll experience one of the biggest upsets in British boxing history.”

If Allen fails to disrupt the odds and Hrgovic emerges unscathed, he is widely expected to face Moses Itauma in August.