One of boxing’s biggest ‘what ifs’ looks destined to stay that way. After years of being sidelined by Canelo Alvarez, David Benavidez was essentially pushed to move up to light heavyweight. There, he racked up impressive wins over Oleksandr Gvozdyk and David Morrell. Most recently, ‘The Mexican Monster’ faced Anthony Yarde—the same Yarde who pushed Artur Beterbiev to the brink in 2023 before falling short.

But unlike Beterbiev, Benavidez dominated from start to finish, stopping Yarde with a seventh-round TKO. The win fueled talk of a potential showdown with Beterbiev or even an undisputed clash with Dmitry Bivol . Instead, Benavidez shocked fans by announcing a move to cruiserweight to face Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramírez on May 6. Still, the past continues to loom large. Jose Benavide

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