By Norm Frauenheim –
David Benavidez says he wants to be the Face of the Game. He might have to wait on that one too.
That’s not his choice. Patience, after all, isn’t exactly a virtue in boxing, which has been defined by the pursuit of paydays ever since prize and fighting became one word. But it’s an inescapable factor in the ongoing emergence of Benavidez.
He waited on Canelo Álvarez, still to no avail.
Now, he waits on Dmitrii Bivol.
The current round in the waiting game isn’t exclusive to Benavidez. For now, it’s the state of a game waiting on changes Saudi money has brought.
And bought.
There’s talk of moving beyond ruling acronyms and a crazy collection of belts named everything but irrelevant. There’s an agreement for a new league, TKO, although nobody seems to know exactly how that one will be much different than any other acronym.
Nearly a month ago, Benavidez was at ringside in Riyadh for Bivol’s narrow rematch decision over Artur Beterbiev. Benavidez was there as the potential next, the so-called mandatory challenger, for the winner after his solid scorecard victory over David Morrell Feb. 1 in Las Vegas.
Mandatory has been attached to Benavidez’ name for years now. He was in that role, the World Boxing Council’s mandatory at super-middleweight, throughout his futile pursuit of a date with Canelo, undisputed at 168 pounds in everybody’s opinion other than than one acronym, the IBF (International Boxing Federation).
But mandatory didn’t mean much then. It was never enforced, simply because Canelo’s celebrity and pay-per-view clout comes with prerogatives. Canelo, who intends to re-claim the IBF belt against William Scull during the first weekend in May in Riyadh, fights whoever he wants to.
Benavidez moved up the scale and away from Canelo, in part to create his own career and mostly because he didn’t have much choice. At 28 years old, Benavidez is just getting bigger, perhaps big enough to one day fight at heavyweight.
Whether the move from super-middle to light-heavy changed the meaning of mandatory, however, is still anybody’s guess.
In the wake of Bivol’s majority decision, the WBC did what it did not do at 168 pounds. It ordered Bivol to defend his 175-pound title against Benavidez, a consensus pound-for-pound pick for the first time since beating Morrell.
But Saudi Prince and promoter Turki Alalshikh, whose bankroll is redefining boxing’s expectations, announced in The Ring — his new acquisition — that he was not interested.
That much seemed to be clear at the moment Bivol’s narrow rematch victory was announced. Alalshikh waved three fingers, meaning — of course — that a third Bivol-Beterbiev fight was next. In the wake of the WBC order, however, he said in a somewhat tense declaration that he would not bid on Bivol-Benavidez.
What followed was predictable, perhaps even inevitable in this age of disinformation. There was a social-media report that negotiations for Bivol-Benavidez were underway. That proved to be news to both Benavidez promoter/manager Sampson Lewkowicz and Bivol manager Vadim Kornilov.
Lewkowicz called the report “fake news.” Believe him. After Benavidez blew out ex-middleweight David Lemieux in a third-round beat-down in May 2022 at Glendale, AZ, just a few miles of road work from the Phoenix streets where Benavidez grew up, Lewkowicz told 15 Rounds that talk about a Canelo fight was “fantasy.” It still is.
Then, Kornilov told journalist Dan Rafael of Fight Freaks that there was nothing to reports about Bivol-Benavidez. Bivol was with his family, Kornilov said, resting from a busy stretch that included the majority-decision loss to Beterbiev and the rematch victory, all within five months — October and then February.
In the days after Bivol won the rematch, fans took to social media, calling for Bivol to skip a second rematch with Beterbiev. First, they wanted to see Bivol-versus-Benavidez. It’s a fair opinion, but that’s all it is. Saudi money figures to decide this one. Bivol-Beterbiev 3 looks to be next.
The guess is that a third Beterbiev-Bivol fight will be as close as the first two were. Both were decided by identical scores. If the trilogy fight is a draw, will Alalshikh wave four fingers? A fourth fight for the 40-year-old Beterbiev?
It’s not clear what that might mean for Benavidez, who already is being mentioned in a possible fight against Callum Smith. Then again, it might mean more of the same.
He’s still waiting, which on one level makes him the only relevant Face of a changing game. Waiting is the only mandatory these days.
