- Jose Benavidez Sr has outlined a plan for David Benavidez: Michal Cieslak, then Jai Opetaia, then Dmitry Bivol or Artur Beterbiev, then a heavyweight debut against Andy Ruiz
- Benavidez holds the WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles and is expected to face WBC champion Cieslak on December 12 in Phoenix
- Ruiz is coming off a loss to Damian Knyba, and even Benavidez Sr admits the heavyweight idea is "daydreaming"
The Four-Fight Fantasy
Right then. David Benavidez's dad and trainer, Jose Benavidez Sr, has laid out the road map, and it is a long one. Speaking to ProBox TV, he said the plan is for David to unify at cruiserweight against Michal Cieslak, then fight Jai Opetaia, then drop back to light heavyweight for Dmitry Bivol or Artur Beterbiev, and then go up to heavyweight for a debut against Andy Ruiz Jr.
He said Ruiz is like family, that his heart is with him, and that he thinks Andy would want the fight with the Mexican Monster as much as they do. He also said, in his own words, that they were "daydreaming". Credit to him for that. It is the most honest bit of the whole plan.
Cieslak Is The Only Fight That Is Real
Let's deal with what is actually on the table. David Benavidez holds the WBA and WBO cruiserweight belts. The WBC elevated Cieslak to full champion and made Benavidez his mandatory, and the fight is expected on December 12 in Phoenix. Benavidez vs Cieslak is a proper unification and it is happening. The WBC have already said the winner has to face Opetaia.
So step two is also real, in theory. Opetaia has already accepted the fight and put Cinco de Mayo on the table. That is where Team Benavidez have to stop talking and start signing, because Opetaia at 200lbs is the most dangerous fight on the entire list. He is a big, fast, heavy-handed southpaw who has lived at cruiserweight his whole career. Benavidez has only just got there.
The Weight Problem
Now look at the rest of it. Bulk up for two cruiserweight fights, strip back down to 175 for Bivol or Beterbiev, then pile it all back on for heavyweight. That is not a career plan. That is a body being asked to do three different jobs in two years. Fighters do not ping-pong across divisions for a reason: you lose power, you lose stamina, and you lose the punch resistance that got you there.
Why Andy Ruiz?
If you know, you know. Ruiz is a massive name in the Mexican market, he is only six foot tall, and his last outing was a loss to Damian Knyba in Newark. By the time David Benavidez got to him under this plan, Ruiz would be pushing 40. That is a heavyweight win with the name value and very little of the danger. Nobody should dress it up as anything else.
The Verdict
Make no mistake, I think David Benavidez beats Cieslak on December 12, and I think he stops him late. Benavidez is levels above him on skill and output. But I do not think this four-fight tour ever happens in that order. My prediction: Benavidez beats Cieslak, the Opetaia negotiations drag into the spring, and the next big headline is Benavidez vs Bivol at light heavyweight, not Opetaia. The Ruiz fight stays exactly where Jose Sr put it: in a daydream.