David Benavidez\u2019s father and trainer, Jose Benavidez Sr, has shelved a potential world title fight while his son targets other champions at light-heavyweight and cruiserweight.<\/p>\n
The 29-year-old will face one such fighter on May 2, when he headlines a Premier Boxing Champions card against Gilberto Ramirez at the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
Having never previously fought at 200lbs, Benavidez is entering uncharted waters when he attempts to dethrone the WBO and WBA world champion.<\/p>\n
But still, many believe the American\u2019s blistering hands and tremendous engine will be too much for Ramirez, who claimed his titles by dethroning Arsen Goulamirian and Chris Billam-Smith in 2024.<\/p>\n
Those two performances were then followed by another unanimous decision victory, this time against Yuniel Dorticos last June<\/a>, with \u2018Zurdo\u2019 having now established himself as a top-flight cruiserweight.<\/p>\n But while Benavidez must remain focused on the task at hand, his father is already mentioning the likes of Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev as potential opponents.<\/p>\n It would therefore appear that, even with a win over Ramirez, the WBC world light-heavyweight champion is likely to move back down to 175lbs.<\/p>\n One fight that has effectively been ruled out is against Jai Opetaia, whose status as IBF world cruiserweight champion remains uncertain<\/a> after he claimed the inaugural Zuffa title against Brandon Glanton last week.<\/p>\n