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.

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

ZHANIBEK Alimkhanuly has been ordered to defend his WBO 160-pound title against Britain’s Hamzah Sheeraz. The official letter sent by the organization explained that both parties – representatives of Alimkhanuly Top Rank and Queensberry for Sheeraz – are now committed to reaching an agreement within the next 15 days. If no agreement can be reached, an auction will take place.

“The minimum acceptable offer for the WBO middleweight division is $200,000,” reads a message sent by WBO president Luis Batista Salas. Champion Alimkhanuly, who also holds the IBF belt, was last seen beating Andrei Mikhailovich in Australia after a ninth-round stoppage.

Sheeraz has also been lively recently, defeating Tyler Denny in two rounds on the Anthony Joshua-Daniel Dubois undercard, earning Denny the European crown in the process. Interestingly, the EBU recently ordered Sheeraz to defend his modern belt against Denzel Bentley, who previously lost a 12-round world title fight to Alimkhanuly.

Alimkhanuly declared his willingness to continue unification after being dismissed from the game, but restricted the Recent Zealander Mikhailovich. In the post-fight interview, the names of fellow champions Lara and Adames were mentioned. Sheeraz presents a completely different threat. Newborn, fresh and a powerful puncher with dimensions to match the Kazakh, Zhanibek will raise his game according to the threat.