{"id":621637,"date":"2026-06-04T23:53:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T23:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/621637\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T23:53:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T23:53:09","slug":"artur-beterbiev-claims-david-benavidez-team-backed-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/621637\/","title":{"rendered":"Artur Beterbiev Claims David Benavidez Team Backed Away"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev says a fight with David Benavidez was available after his victory over Anthony Yarde, but claims Benavidez\u2019s team quickly moved in a different direction once he agreed to the matchup.<\/p>\n

Beterbiev was asked about Benavidez and whether a fight between them ever came close to happening. The former undisputed champion responded by questioning Benavidez\u2019s reputation and claiming he had already accepted an offer to face him.<\/p>\n

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\u201cBenavidez is the kind of guy that talks a lot more than he does. His boxing is dirty, and some of his victories are certainly questionable,\u201d Beterbiev said to the Russian outlet Match TV.<\/p>\n

\u201cI agreed to fight him [following his fight with Anthony Yarde]. His team apparently didn\u2019t expect me to agree so quickly, so they immediately changed their mind and chose [Zurdo] Ramirez.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benavidez eventually moved up to cruiserweight and challenged Gilberto Ramirez earlier this year, capturing the WBA and WBO titles with a stoppage victory. The win strengthened his position as one of boxing\u2019s top pound-for-pound fighters and fueled discussion about future fights against Dmitry Bivol, Jai Opetaia, and even Oleksandr Usyk.<\/p>\n

Beterbiev\u2019s comments add another chapter to a rivalry that never reached the ring. A fight between the two had long been discussed by fans when both men were competing at light heavyweight, but negotiations never advanced to an official announcement.<\/p>\n

The Russian veteran has not fought since losing his undisputed championship to Bivol, while Benavidez has continued to pursue major fights across multiple weight classes.<\/p>\n

Whether the matchup can still happen remains unclear, but Beterbiev\u2019s version of events suggests he believes the opportunity was there and that it was Benavidez\u2019s side that chose a different route.<\/p>\n

Robert Segal is a boxing journalist at Boxing News 24 with more than a decade of experience covering fight news, previews, and analysis. Known for his straightforward reporting and ringside perspective, he delivers authoritative coverage of champions, contenders, and emerging talent worldwide.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\tCategories Artur Beterbiev<\/a>, David Benavidez<\/a> \t\t<\/p>\n

Boxing News 24<\/a> \u00bb Artur Beterbiev<\/a> \u00bb Artur Beterbiev Claims David Benavidez Team Backed Away<\/p>\n

Last Updated on 2026\/06\/04 at 2:41 PM \t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev says a fight with David Benavidez was available after his victory…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":621638,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-621637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=621637"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621637\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/621638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=621637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=621637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=621637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}