By Norm Frauenheim –
David Benavidez wore a polished symbol of the Phoenix logo around his neck a few days ago in a long-awaited homecoming.
The medallion represents, he says, where he’s been and who he still is.
In its brass reflection, however, there was something else. Something more. The mythological bird, now a modern city’s identity seen on government doors and busses, means a lot of things.
On this day, there was a message, a bold statement about a fighter transformed, unleashed from the years when he was defined by his futile pursuit of Canelo Alvarez.
He’s moved on, beyond Canelo and up the scale. The Canelo question is still there. Yet now, it’s almost an aside. Sorry to ask, video journalists say apologetically as he stands amid reporters and a long line of fans during an opening of the Visionary Boxing Club in west Phoenix last week.
No problem, Benavidez says, smiling. He hasn’t exactly eliminated Canelo as a possibility. He never will. The maturing Benavidez, 29-years-old last month, is a businessman, too. Business is a fundamental too often not included in a prize fighter’s skillset.
Canelo still means business, lots of it. Benavidez, like everybody else in the fight game, knows Canelo collected $100-million-plus for his September loss to Terence Crawford. That’s more than a prize. It’s a fortune.
Of course, Benavidez says he’d fight Canelo.
Canelo’s future, post-Crawford, was unclear until Thursday when The Ring reported he plans to fight again on Sept.12 in Saudi Arabia. He underwent elbow surgery in the immediate aftermath of the one-sided scorecard loss to Crawford.
In a video, Canelo’s return was called a “big, big,
big fight” by Saudi Prince and promoter Turki Alalshikh, who bankrolled the Canelo-Crawford fight and owns The Ring.
Until then, Benavidez has other plans, all as ambitious as they are risky.
“Zurdo, Beterbiev, Bivol,’’ Benavidez said of Gilberto Ramirez, Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
Of the three, only Ramirez – Zurdo – is on the calendar, penciled in for May 2 – the Cinco-de-Mayo celebration that could have been called Canelo-de-Mayo during the Mexican’s primetime reign.
The risk in the Zurdo date, planned for Las Vegas, looks to be heavy. Benavidez, who defended his light-heavyweight title in a seventh-round stoppage of Anthony Yarde November 22 in Saudi Arabia, is making the jump to cruiserweight.
After only three fights at 175-pounds, the light-heavy limit, Benavidez will fight in a division 25 pounds heavier.
On the scale, it looks risky. According to early odds, however, it’s not. Some betting sites already make Benavidez a big favorite (minus-900).
Benavidez is confident, in part because he knows Zurdo well. They’ve sparred countless rounds. One hundred, 200 rounds, Benavidez says.
“Between 2017 and 2022, we sparred all the time,’’ said Benavidez, now a Miami resident who re-connected with his Phoenix fan-base Saturday by signing autographs for about six hours. “For five years, we sparred championship rounds. I knew then that I wanted to fight Zurdo. One day, I figured we would.
“After all of those championship rounds, it’s going to be a championship fight.’’
Benavidez is already at his new weight.
“I’m at 200 pounds now,’’ he said last Saturday.
The weight looked natural, unlike the 168 pounds that often left him gaunt and hollow-cheeked in the division long dominated by Canelo.
His father and trainer, Jose Benavidez Sr., says his son is already close to the weight he expects hm to be at opening bell May 2.
“Two-hundred, maybe 205,’’ Jose Sr. said.
Still, the jump in weight leaves questions about his hope to go back down to light-heavy for 175-pound dates against Beterbiev and Bivol. For at least a year, the expectation has been that Benavidez will grow into a heavyweight. Could cruiser be the first step in that direction?
It’s still not clear whether Beterbiev and Bivol will fight for a third time. Bivol is back in the gym after undergoing back surgery. Speculation has him back in the ring this Spring.
Meanwhile, time is the biggest question for Beterbiev. He’ll be 40 next Wednesday. He won’t be fighting much longer, unlike Benavidez whose ascent is just beginning.
