David Benavidez and Jai Opetaia continue to be linked to a future cruiserweight clash, and four-division world champion Roy Jones Jr has had his say on who he is favouring to come out on top in their proposed battle.

Benavidez is in hot pursuit of the undisputed cruiserweight title. He is currently in possession of both the WBA and WBO world titles but expected to next face WBC titleholder Michal Cieslak in a three-belt unification showdown on December 5.

Meanwhile, Opetaia has an ongoing lawsuit against the IBF – who stripped him of his world title for a second time earlier this year – as he hopes to be reinstated as champion and subsequently tee up a meeting with Benavidez for all four belts.

Opetaia is simultaneously being linked to a heavyweight debut, mooted to be taking on Deontay Wilder on the Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua undercard in December.

Speaking on the Hall of Game podcastJones says that he expects Benavidez to get the better of Opetaia if they collide.

“I want to see how David fares in that fight [against Opetaia] first [before he moves up to heavyweight]. I think that David probably wins the fight but I want to see how he fares in the fight.”

Should Opetaia not be reinstated as the IBF cruiserweight champion, it is believed that Viddal Riley and David Nyika will meet for the vacant belt. If that were to happen, it remains to be seen whether Benavidez would divert from his three-fight plan in order to capture the undisputed crown.

Despite being nine years into retirement, it appears that Floyd Mayweather could have a busy year in the ring if the latest claims are to be believed.

The American boxing icon hung up the gloves after a straightforward victory over Conor McGregor took his professional record to 50-0.

He has since fought exclusively in exhibitions, facing social media stars and combat athletes from other disciplines. That looked set to change this year when, in February, it was announced by Netflix that Mayweather would face Manny Pacquiao for a second time. The September fight was billed as a pro contest.

Mayweather then announced exhibitions with both Mike Tyson and Mike Zambidis, leading to legal issues which postponed the Pacquiao event indefinitely.

The 49-year-old recently said that he plans for both the Tyson and ‘PacMan’ fights to take place in December and then 2027 respectively, but Ryan Garcia has now announced on social media that he has agreed to face Mayweather.

“Trust me at first I thought this was bull***.

“But it’s real Floyd and I agree to a fight.

“147 for the WBC welterweight championship of the world.

“50-0 vs The current champ.”

Trust me at first I thought this was bull***

But it’s real Floyd and I agree to a fight

147 for the WBC welterweight championship of the world

50-0 vs The current champ

— RYAN GARCIA (@RyanGarcia) October 21, 2026

Garcia also posted an image that appears to show a video call between him and Mayweather.

Talking about 🥊 pic.twitter.com/x10bCca14Z

— RYAN GARCIA (@RyanGarcia) October 21, 2026

Garcia won the WBC welterweight world title at the beginning of the year by beating Mario Barriosand his stock is as high as ever following a two-round blowout of Conor Benn in his first defence.

He has reportedly now entered talks for a unification against Teofimo Lopez, who is appealing to the WBA to postpone a mandatory fight against Jack Catterall.

Though the WBC would undoubtedly approve Mayweather’s title challenge – as they did for a returning Pacquiao last year – fans will be dubious of Garcia’s claims, particularly given the fact that Mayweather mentioned no such fight in his most recent interview.

David Benavidez has proven that he is not afraid of any challenge in boxing, but one rumoured opponent is hoping that he ‘hasn’t scared Benavidez’ off from a potential cruiserweight battle.

‘The Mexican Monster’ reigned as the WBC light-heavyweight champion, but made the 25lb jump from 175lbs to 200lbs earlier this year to challenge for Gilberto Ramirez’s unified WBA and WBO titles – and scored an emphatic knockout to claim both belts.

Now, should he come through Michal Cieslak unscathed in December, Benavidez has revealed a three-fight plan that includes a potential undisputed title showdown with Jai Opetaia, a clash with Artur Beterbiev, and a possible move up to heavyweight.

When discussing the proposed battle with former undisputed light heavyweight champion Beterbiev, Benavidez joked to The Ring that he respects Beterbiev for pursuing a fight with him despite being ’45 years old’.

“Beterbiev has definitely reached out to our team. He’s actively been trying to make that fight. We want to give him what he wants. You know, I respect Beterbiev. He’s about 45 years old, and the fact he’s calling me out, I have great respect for him.”

In response, Beterbiev – who is actually 41 years old – has posted a training clip onto his Instagramhinting at a future fight with Benavidez in the caption.

“I hope nobody was scared off by my ’45-year-old’ physique!”

Beterbiev, who has a 90% knockout ratio from his 22 fights, is also being touted for a light-heavyweight trilogy with fierce foe, Dmitry Bivol, where a victory could tee up a mammoth meeting between he and Benavidez for mid-to-late 2027.