David Benavidez has a ringside seat with his name on it at the Kingdom Arena on Saturday night.
Turki Alalshikh, head of Riyadh Season and chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, has invited Benavidez to watch undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev take on Dmitry Bivol in their anticipated rematch.
Fresh off his February 1 victory against David Morrell, Benavidez is next in line to challenge the winner, and Alalshikh is eager to arrange the fight.
“I thought they both looked amazing [in the October fight], honestly,” Benavidez told The Ring. “I think it was a great fight that goes down for ages. Bivol was landing the more technical and eye-catching shots but Beterbiev hurt Bivol and did more damage. If you don't hurt him or knock him down or drop him, I think the person who is landing most of the shots should win. If it's the same fight [in the rematch], I think Bivol should win, if they give it to him. If they rob it from him, then it's Beterbiev.”
By beating Morrell, Benavidez secured the WBA and WBC interim titles and solidified his spot to face the winner. However, if Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) beats Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs),
a trilogy could be next.
Earlier this month, Benavidez stated that
he’d prefer Bivol to beat Beterbiev and understood that he could be stuck in limbo waiting for the rivalry to be complete for him to step in.
Manouk Akopyan is a lead writer for Ring Magazine. He can be reached on X and Instagram @ManoukAkopyan.