David Benavidez didn’t get the answer he wanted to hear when he sought to enforce his mandatory title status.
Don’t expect the former two-time super middleweight titlist to go away quietly anytime soon—or at all.
Up next for Phoenix’s Benavidez is a return to his home region, as he faces former IBF middleweight titlist David Lemieux (43-4, 36KOs) in an interim WBC super middleweight title fight. The bout takes place May 21 on Showtime from Gila River Arena in Glendale, less than 30 minutes from Benavidez’s childhood hometown.
Benavidez is already the mandatory challenger to the full WBC title held by Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (57-1-2, 39KOs), who holds all the chips at super middleweight. A win over Lemieux (43-4, 36KOs) should cement his chances at being next in line, though it won’t be the case. Alvarez will next challenge WBA light heavyweight titlist Dmitry Bivol (19-0, 11KOs) on May 7 in Las Vegas. After that is an expected clash with IBF/WBA middleweight titlist Gennadiy Golovkin (42-1-1, 37KOs), who will move up for a trilogy clash targeted for September 17.
“If you win the interim title that means the next fight has to be for the main title,” Benavidez insisted to BoxingScene.com and other media on hand for a virtual press conference to otherwise discuss his fight with Lemieux. “I don’t think it should be any difference in this case.
“If Canelo Alvarez wants to fight at light heavyweight, then he’s going to have to vacate. It’s only fair.”
Benavidez (25-0, 22KOs) was confirmed as the WBC mandatory challenger at the sanctioning body’s annual convention last November. However, he was granted an interim title fight in lieu of a clear path at Alvarez, who—through manager/trainer Eddy Reynoso—exploited the sanctioning body’s rules by seeking permission to face WBC cruiserweight titlist Ilunga ‘Junior’ Makabu.
The fight never materialized, with Alvarez instead securing a two-fight deal with DAZN to face Bivol and potentially Golovkin. The end result is Alvarez upending Benavidez’s shot at regaining his old title for the second time in as many years.
Benavidez saw his previous two title reigns end due to circumstances outside the ring. The unbeaten boxer was stripped of his WBC title in September 2018 after testing positive for cocaine during random drug testing through the WBC’s Clean Boxing Program. He regained the belt in a ninth-round stoppage of Anthony Dirrell in September 2019, only for the pandemic to cancel a planned April 2020 homecoming versus Alexis Angulo.
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The fight with Angulo was rescheduled for August 2020 in the Showtime bubble at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. Benavidez lost his belt before he made it to the ring, badly missing weight before going on to win via tenth-round stoppage in what ultimately amounted to a non-title fight.
