David Benavidez, who now is known as the 'Mexican Monster,' thanks to a nickname given to him by Mike Tyson is eagerly awaiting his return to the boxing ring after the most significant win of his career against Caleb Plant on pay-per-view. However, much to the dismay of many boxing fans Benavidez has had issues securing his next fight.
Benavidez originally targeted Canelo Alvarez, but despite a handsome offer of riches to Canelo, but Canelo appears to now be targeting Jermell Charlo for a September 30th fight. Despite the lack of a fight date, Benavidez is staying as disciplined as ever.
“I have a lot of respect for Canelo Álvarez, but he has to give me that shot now," said David Benavidez after his win over Caleb Plant. “That’s what everybody wants to see in September.”
Now it appears his second choice for an opponent might just have fallen by the wayside as a source close to the situation speaking on the grounds of anonymity told ProBox TV News Golden Boy Promotions never offered Jaime Munguia to Benvavidez for the fall. Benavidez will now be presented with options and lock in a fight date in the coming days or weeks.
Let's explore these options that could present themselves as the next opponents, Benavidez could target.
Demetrius Andrade
Twitter user @julianisjulius was cited as being a source of a rumor that Benavidez and Demetrius Andrade could very well fight in the fall. Andrade made his debut with the PBC in January fighting in the first bout of the Gervonta Davis vs Hector Luis Garcia pay-per-view. Some believe the bout is almost finalized, but nothing of substance has been confirmed or published.
ProBox TV News has attempted to verify this report, but so far we have not been able to get any solid footing on the story.
Andrade is a two-division world champion and is his prime one of the best fighters in the world. This would be a very interesting match-up as Andrade's career has seen him be avoided for essentially a decade. Andrade is a slick-and-awkward boxer, who resembles an avant-grade jazz musician in the ring. He uses some structure, but just the bare minimum. If this is who Benavidez faces to end his year, this was an impressive year.
This fight has a lot of smoke to it, as Andrade is a well-accomplished champion and has been seen as a boogeyman. It would be on paper the biggest fight of either fighter's career, and could also be a fighter that would sell - as Andrade has a solid fanbase that is underappreciated in many boxing social circles. The fact that Andrade now is in the same boxing eco-system of the Premier Boxing Champions world, hints at a fight being possible.
What Andrade signifies is on paper is the most heralded opponent as Andrade was a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic team and a two-division world champion, who is now campaigning in his third weight class. Andrade would be the most established fighter that Benavidez has ever fought.
David Morrell
David Morrell has been largely outspoken when it comes to Benavidez as he has used a lot of bad language when talking about Benavidez. A month ago, Morrell said the following about Benavidez via a press release.
“Jose Sr. does not want the fight. He talks a lot, but he clearly wants to fight Munguia as seen in all his recent interviews. The loudmouth son Jose Jr. hasn’t said a word either. So, I want small man Jose to come out publicly and say he is scared of the Monster Morrell," said Morrell, who now wants to go by Benavidez's nickname.." I’m giving you 24 hours to tell the world the truth little guy. Or I will do an interview daily about the cowards they call the Benevidez’. Your name is Red Flag maybe because you run when there is danger. Don’t use my name anymore, cancel all your merchandise and stop lying to people."
Benavidez who has been sharing training footage via his social media platform has been dismissive of a fight with Morrell stating that Morrell needs to obtain more fame before being a serious opponent for him.
“I feel like they [Team Morrell] have to get his name a little bit bigger, but I’ll fight him whenever. It definitely doesn’t matter to me, but yeah, that’s a great fight," said Benavidez to FightHype.com. "We’re just trying to make the biggest fights happen, and the best fights happen. He [David Morrell] could have all the experience in the world. He’s not going to beat me ever. I don’t know. I don’t think he’s inexperienced. He’s a good fighter. He’s been boxing for a long time."
With Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr., fighting a generational bout, to define who is the best in the welterweight division - one of the next great bouts that can happen is Benavidez versus Morrell. The big question now is; will it happen? We no longer have to ask 'can it happen?' As we are spoiled with great fights this year. Seemingly any fight can happen, especially in the great fight year of 2023.
Benavidez versus Morrell is a Spence vs Crawford-type bout at the super middleweight division - now we have to see if the risk is worth the reward for both fighters. It creates the 'next-guy' of the division, the question now becomes does the risk equal the reward for both parties.
Why this fight is meaningful is these two, Benavidez and Morrell appear to be the two best young fighters as of right now emerging in the super middleweight division and it would create a true world title contender to the undisputed super middleweight world champion, Canelo Alvarez.
Jaime Munguia
As stated above, the fight appears to be a no-go for the fall, but this is boxing and things change quickly.
The Benavidez family has made it clear that if David Benavidez couldn't land a fight with Canelo, they have felt that Jaime Munguia is their logical next choice. Oscar De La Hoya has also spoken about this and stated that it is true.
Outside of Canelo, Munguia is the biggest draw in the division and is also coming off a fight-of-the-year contender against Sergiy Derevyanchenko. If Munguia sees himself as a top-tier fighter this could be a brilliant match-up that allows him to test himself against the division.
One roadblock is Benavidez is promoted by Sampson Lewkowicz, who deals with Premier Boxing Champions exclusively. Munguia is promoted by Zanfer Promotions with a co-promotional agreement with Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions. Unlike Morrell or even Andrade, Munguia is typically a fighter who fights on a rival network - DAZN, as opposed to Showtime, where the PBC broadcasts most of their fights.
It appears that Benavidez vs Munguia is too difficult to make for the fall of 2023, but could be revisited as soon as 2024 if things turn out the right way.
Why this fight is important is it would pit a Mexican-American power-and-pressure fighter in Benavidez against a Mexican pressure fighter in Munguia. It has all the makings for an action-packed fight.
