David Benavidez didn’t need to go all the way to Riyadh to plead his case after all.

A previous WBC ruling was confirmed by the sanctioning body, reiterating that Benavidez is next due a mandatory shot at its light heavyweight title. It puts the former two-time super middleweight titlist directly in line against The Ring and undisputed champion Dmitry Bivol.

Unfortunately, for the unbeaten 28-year-old, the matter is still at the mercy of the other sanctioning bodies—and the Riyadh Season group.

Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs), The Ring’s No. 2 light heavyweight contender, doubled down on his place as mandatory challenger after a Feb. 1 unanimous decision win over David Morrell (11-1, 9 KOs) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The win saw Benavidez defend his interim WBC title and claim Morrell’s WBA ‘Regular’ belt.

Three weeks later, Benavidez was on site during fight night as Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs) avenged his lone career defeat with a twelve-round, majority decision over Artur Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KOs). Benavidez flew in as an invited guest of Turki Alalshikh, head of Riyadh Season and chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority.

Oddly, the invite wasn’t necessarily for Benavidez to directly challenge the Benavidez-Bivol winner, even if implied.

Alalshikh stated beforehand that a Bivol victory could set up a rubber match. Beterbiev, now The Ring’s No. 1 contender at 175, won their first fight to fully unify the division last Oct. 12 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.

Bivol did his part to preserve the rivalry with his narrow win on Feb. 22 at nearby ANB Arena. He stated afterward of his willingness to take on whoever needed to be next, whether a third fight with Beterbiev or a first fight with Benavidez.

There is a chance that Beterbiev stands down for at least one fight. He was indifferent to the second fight when first presented, although he is keen on the chance to trump his first pro defeat.

Despite the WBC ruling, it is doubtful that the fight is ordered before discussed with all involved parties.

Riyadh Season is a sponsor of the WBC and the WBA—fittingly, the two secondary titles currently held by Benavidez. While the WBC was quick to rule that Bivol must next face Benavidez, the sanctioning bodies have yet to agree on the mandatory rotation order.

Michael Eifert (13-1, 5 KOs) is now going on two years as the IBF mandatory in waiting. He was even in line to next face Beterbiev when the fight was ordered last fall—immediately after Beterbiev’s win over Bivol. An exception was filed and ultimately approved by the IBF to allow Beterbiev-Bivol II, with the stipulation that the winner next face Eifert.

Working against Benavidez’s favor is that the WBC had the last mandatory fight at light heavyweight. It came last January, when Beterbiev knocked out Callum Smith (31-2, 22 KOs), The Ring’s No. 3 light heavyweight contender.

Prior to that, Beterbiev satisfied his WBO mandatory in a Jan. 2023 knockout victory over Anthony Yarde (26-3, 24 KOs), The Ring’s No. 4 175-pound contender.

Bivol’s last WBA mandatory defense came in Nov. 2022 during his first reign, when he defeated then-unbeaten and top-rated contender Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez (44-0 at the time), now a unified WBA/WBO cruiserweight titlist.

An IBF mandatory has not taken place since March 2021, when Beterbiev knocked out Adam Deines in the tenth round in Moscow, Russia.

Benavidez previously told The Ring that he was prepared to remain active in the event he didn’t get his promised shot at the light heavyweight championship. One discussed option was a move to cruiserweight to challenge for Ramirez’s unified titles.

The current situation is eerily similar to the years-long stall-out experienced by Benavidez at super middleweight. After twice losing the WBC title outside the ring, Benavidez claimed an interim version of the belt.

However, the sanctioning body outright refused to order Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs)—The Ring, WBC, WBA, and WBO 168-pound champ—to honor his mandatory. The long wait prompted Benavidez to move up to light heavyweight, where he defeated former WBC champ Oleksandr Gvozdyk (20-2, 16 KOs) last June 15 to win the interim WBC title.