Boxing

Dmitry Bivol Accused Of Ducking David Benavidez After Turki Alalshikh Loyalty Plea

Boxing fans aren't happy about Dmitry Bivol's latest showing of loyalty toward Turki Alalshikh.
Grant Young|
Dmitry Bivol during a May 6, 2022 weigh in.
Dmitry Bivol during a May 6, 2022 weigh in. | IMAGO / Hoganphotos

Per a March 7 release from his Ring Magazine, Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia's general entertainment authority and the most powerful man in the sport is boxing, was quoted saying, “I am no longer interested in Bivol-Benavidez and I will not bid on it. I think Bivol knows who has delivered for him and who hasn’t. My advice to Bivol: don’t be late because every day something changes.”

It didn't take the undisputed light heavyweight champion of the world long to respond to Alalshihk's plea, as he made an X post on March 8 that featured a photo of him that wrote, Waiting for the next move with my best team @MatchroomBoxing @Turki_alalshikh @RiyadhSeason @VadimKteam".

This post makes it clear that Bivol sees no issue with Alalshikh's words, and will therefore likely follow his direction toward a trilogy fight with Artur Beterbiev rather than face off against Benavidez.

However, this post has prompted many boxing fans to call Bivol out for ducking Benavidez, who they seem to believe is the more difficult matchup.

"Wow! Looks as though Dimitry Bivol has decided to DUCK David Benavidez and vacate!" one X user wrote along with a screenshot of Bivol's post.

Another X user posted a photo of Benavidez with the caption, "Turki got Bivol in the Saudi protection program because deep down he knows the Mexican Monster gonna cook him 🔥💯".

"Just don't duck Benavidez like Canelo did," a thrid wrote in response to Bivol's original post.

It seems that all Benavidez fans can do now is hope that he's next in line after Bivol's trilogy against Beterbiev occurs.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young is a Staff Writer for On SI’s Boxing, New York Mets, Indiana Fever, and Women’s Fastbreak sites. Before joining SI in 2024, he wrote for various boxing and sports verticals such as FanBuzz and NY Fights. Young has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in creative writing with an emphasis on sports nonfiction from the University of San Francisco, where he played five seasons of Division 1 baseball. He fought Muay Thai professionally in Thailand in 2023, loves a good essay, and is driven crazy trying to handle a pitpull puppy named Aura. Young lives in San Diego and was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.