David Benavidez pinpoints Artur Beterbiev’s potential downfall against Dmitry Bivol
David Benavidez is soon to make his debut in the light heavyweight division, home to two undefeated Soviet sluggers in Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev. The pair hold all five world titles at the weight class, and are scheduled to face off in the ring later this year.
Bivol and Beterbiev were initially set to clash on June 1, but an injury to Beterbiev forced him out of the matchup. Instead, Malik Zinad was offered the chance to step in and face the WBA and IBO light heavyweight champion, who secured a sixth-round TKO victory to extend his record to 23-0.
The injured WBC, WBO, and IBF champion suffered a torn meniscus ahead of his title unification bout with the 33-year-old. With Beterbiev's exact recovery timeline unclear, a new date for their highly anticipated clash has not been confirmed.
Ahead of Benavidez's light heavyweight debut against Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June 15, he was interviewed by Fight Hub TV, where he broke down the Bivol vs. Beterbiev matchup.
He said this:
"It's a hard fight for both of them. I'm kind of leaning with Bivol, because Bivol is a great boxer and he has punching power. Beterbiev is a little bit older, I think his body is breaking down a little bit. He works really hard, take nothing away from him. But he does a lot of weights, and in boxing when you do too much weights like that, that's when you start to break down."
Watch David Benavidez break down Bivol vs. Beterbiev below (2:35):
WATCH: David Benavidez and Oleksandr Gvozdyk share final face-off ahead of fight night
Last month, David Benavidez announced that he would be putting the super middleweight division in his rear-view mirror and would be moving to light heavyweight.
'El Monstruo' had struggled to secure the 168-pound clash that he desired, an undisputed title fight with champion Canelo Alvarez, even though he had pushed for the clash for over a year.
Despite being Alvarez's WBC mandatory challenger, the matchup was not enforced by the sanctioning body, leaving the American little choice but to move divisions in search of undisputed glory.
He will now face a man he has sparred with before, Oleksandr Gvozdyk. In a recent interview, he admitted that he was dominated by the 27-year-old when they shared the training ring.
The pair will clash in the co-main event of the Gervonta Davis vs. Frank Martin card on June 15 and shared their final face-off yesterday.
Watch the final face-off for David Benavidez vs. Oleksandr Gvozdyk below: