After fighting virtually his entire career at super middleweight, David Benavidez made his lightweight debut Saturday night and got a unanimous decision win over former light heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk, becoming the mandatory challenger for the upcoming Artur Beterbiev–Dmitry Bivol light heavyweight unification fight October 12. Benavidez is also the mandatory challenger for a belt at 168 held by Canelo Alvarez, a fight he supposedly was lobbying for. 

David Morrell also could also be a future opponent for Benavidez as he is also set to make his light heavyweight debut in August on the 3rd.

Benavidez took the fight as a way to simply avoid activating his mandatory status for one of Alvarez’s belts. He decided to take on a Gvozdyk who has been irrelevant in more than 3 1/2 years, last seen on the canvas three times when he lost his light heavyweight belt to Artur Beterviev back in 2019.  

Benavidez, perceived as a “monster,” basically did what he had to do to get the win, but failed to impress as he essentially carried Gvozdyk the 12-round distance, winning by the scores of 116-112, 117-111, and 119-109. He did very good body work and showed some defense, but by allowing Gvozdyk to last the 12 round distance, it raises questions as to whether he is actually deservingly of opportunities to fight fighters like Alvarez , Beterbiev, or Bivol, let alone beat them. Before that happens, all Benavidez can do is fight better opponents and do a better job of getting the job done in a way that makes him worthy and deserving of fights against all three.

Photo Credit; RingSide 24, USA Today, Bad Left Hook

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