Boxing

Eddie Hearn Looking To Match Former Canelo Alvarez Opponent Against David Benavidez

Eddie Hearn is keen on matching Canelo Alvarez's former opponent against David Benavidez.

Apratim Banerjee

IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

David Benavidez was recently crowned the WBC light heavyweight champion after Dmitry Bivol vacated the title. Benavidez was the WBC mandatory, but Bivol chose to proceed with the Artur Beterbiev trilogy instead due to his agreement with Turki Alalshikh.

Benavidez, meanwhile, is coming off a win against David Morrell. He suffered a knockdown in that clash but earned a dominant decision win.

Eddie Hearn has now claimed that he wants to see one of Canelo Alvarez's former opponents come up against Benavidez. The man in question is British fighter Callum Smith. Smith is 31-2-0 with 22 knockout wins. His only two career defeats have come against Canelo Alvarez and Artur Beterbiev.

Smith earned a spectacular decision win against Joshua Buatsi in his last fight in February.

Speaking to Boxing News, Matchroom Boxing boss Eddie Hearn said:

That light heavyweight division is actually quite thin at the top in terms of big names. I think Callum’s got great options ahead. He’s going to be mandatory to Dmitry Bivol you’ve got the potential [Anthony] Yarde fight on a 5 v 5, you’ve got the Benavidez fight. It’s really interesting and I think David Benavidez against Callum Smith is a hell of a fight.

With Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev seemingly set for a trilogy, Benavidez is left searching for an opponent. Callum Smith looks to be in form and showed all of his heart and grit in his last outing against Buatsi.

He could be a worthy opponent for David Benavidez as 'The Mexican Monster' looks to strengthen his position in the light heavywieght division.

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Apratim Banerjee
APRATIM BANERJEE

Apratim is an experienced sports journalist and has covered Football, Boxing, MMA, and more for the past five years. He has worked for Sports Illustrated, Sportskeeda, EssentiallySports, and other publications. Apratim is currently pursuing an MSc. in Sport Marketing at Loughborough University London.