David Benavidez has been paving his own path in recent years after failing to reel in "the big one."

Following his stoppage win against Anthony Yarde last month, Benavidez announced that he's moving on to a May 2 matchup against WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez.

Benavidez (31-0, 25 KOs) carries the WBC light heavyweight crown because Dmitry Bivol moved away from him as a mandatory challenger while in pursuit of a trilogy bout that never came to be against Artur Beterbiev. Benavidez has experienced similar evasiveness from Canelo Alvarez, who's made it a point that he’s not entirely interested in fighting him.

The series of developments has frustrated Benavidez and his team.

"After waiting so long for Canelo, only to have him avoid us at all costs, David will wait for no one ever again," Benavidez promoter Sampson Lewkowicz said in a press release.

"We offered Bivol $8 million to face David last year, and he chose to vacate the WBC title a day before a scheduled purse bid rather than face him. Beterbiev is coming off a loss [against Bivol in February], so other than money, he brings nothing to table. Besides, David wanted the winner of the rematch, not the loser. David would stop Beterbiev.

"No doubt in my mind, and he has already dropped Bivol with headgear and big gloves [in sparring]. David is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, but he won't talk about it. He will show it, fight after fight."

Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs) has been sidelined with back surgery over the second half of 2025. Matchroom Boxing head Eddie Hearn has alluded that Bivol should be healthy enough to return in the first quarter of 2026, and it’s believed that Beterbiev would be the opponent.

Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KOs) was supposed to stay busy with a fight against Deon Nicholson on the Benavidez-Yarde undercard, but the bout was scrapped six weeks before.

"The WBA has guaranteed us that David is the mandatory for the Bivol-Beterbiev winner," Lewkowicz continued. "Bivol will have to act like a 'Russian Canelo' and vacate another title to avoid facing David. He doesn't want to fight because he knows when they sparred, David put a beating on and dropped him. He has zero chance of beating David. That I promise you. He has no power to keep David off him, and he will take a brutal beating."