Fighting at 168 pounds for the entirety of his career was never the plan, but David Benavidez left his now former division without accomplishing his ultimate goal.

For years, the former two-time super middleweight champ asked for the big fights. But time and time again, he was denied. It wasn’t until recently, however, that his demands were acquiesced to.

Once the 28-year-old got his hands on Anthony Dirrell, Caleb Plant, and most recently, Demetrius Andrade, he took care of business. But while proud of those wins, a matchup with Canelo Alvarez was still on his wishlist.

Whether he took the humble approach or flat-out disrespected him, nevertheless, Benavidez was never able to lure Alvarez into the ring across him. After years of trying, he officially decided it would be in his best interest to ditch those incredibly difficult weight cuts and head on over to the light heavyweight division.

By and large, Benavidez is satisfied with his decision. Still, some are convinced that if Alvarez requested his services back in his old stomping grounds, that Benavidez would make the move back down in weight. Ultimately, those who are under that assumption, are simply mistaken.

“No, I’m done with 168,” Benavidez told 210 Boxing TV during a one-on-one interview. “I’m done with 168.”

With that part of his career now behind him, Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) will focus on David Morrell. The Ring’s No. 2 and 8 ranked light heavies will headline a Las Vegas card this coming weekend. If fighting for the interim WBC and WBA Regular titles weren’t enough, Saturday night's winner will be installed as the mandatory challenger to the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol rematch victor on February 22.

In addition, Benavidez has a backup plan if successful but doesn't land the undisputed champion. He recently revealed that if all else failed, a cruiserweight move to challlenge current unified champion Zurdo Ramirez is an option.