Artur Beterbiev, the reigning unified light heavyweight champion, wants his next fight against Canelo Alvarez or David Benavidez after locking horns with Callum Smith on August 17th, claims Benavidez’s promoter Bob Arum.
“Absolutely,” Arum told Fight Hype whether Beterbiev would face Canelo or Benavidez if he’s defeated by Smith. “Even if he doesn’t beat ( Smith ), Beterbiev would love to fight Canelo or Benavidez.”
Beterbiev, the undefeated Russian who holds the WBC, WBO and IBF belts at 175, is coming off an 8th round TKO win over Anthony Yarde back in January. There were calls to make an undisputed clash against WBA champ Dmitry Bivol, but that couldn’t happen due to the WBC putting sanctions on Russian fighters, making Bivol ineligible to contest for Beterbiev’s WBC belt.
On the other hand, the veteran promoter thinks that a fight between Canelo Álvarez and David Benavidez- something that fans have been wanting for quite some time, even though he thinks that Benavidez the fresher.
“Benavidez is a really good fighter, and Canelo is a really good fighter”, Arum added. “Benavidez is fresher, but it’s a great fight. Who would win? Don’t know, but that would certainly be a fight worth watching.”
While he would like to see Canelo vs. Benavidez taking place, Arum did not comment on who he thinks might win the contest, citing that none of them are under Top Rank, so he doesn’t ponder on that.
“No, because neither of them fights for Top Rank,” he added. “So, it’s not something I spend a lot of time thinking about. That’s for you guys, but it’s a good fight. I’ve seen Benavidez fight, and he’s a great fighter, and we all know the career Canelo has had.”
