Andy Ruiz Targeted for David Benavidez’s Heavyweight Debut

José Benavidez Sr. wants his son David to make his eventual heavyweight debut against former unified champion Andy Ruiz Jr., although he acknowledged that the proposed fight remains a longer-term ambition rather than an active negotiation.

The trainer has mapped out a four-fight plan that would first take Benavidez through unification bouts at cruiserweight, followed by a return to light heavyweight to face either Dmitry Bivol or Artur Beterbiev.

Benavidez holds the WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles after moving up from 175lbs and stopping Gilberto Ramirez inside six rounds. He has since been installed as the mandatory challenger for newly elevated WBC champion Michal Cieslak, with his team targeting December for that fight.

“It’s funny because I was talking to David and what we are looking at; I sat down with David a little bit, we are looking for December to beat the WBC world champion and go with Opetaia, then come down and fight Beterbiev/Bivol,” Benavidez Sr told ProBox TV.

Victory over Cieslak would move Benavidez towards a fight with lineal cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia. The plan would then require Benavidez to drop back to the light-heavyweight limit for a meeting with Bivol or Beterbiev before making another considerable jump in weight.

Ruiz is Benavidez Sr’s preferred opponent for that first heavyweight appearance.

“After that we would love make a fight with Andy Ruiz Jr,” he said. “We are just dreaming here but those are the fights that are very possible to make, I told him that I think those fights are possible to make. Imagine David Benavidez-Andy Ruiz!”

Benavidez Sr also spoke warmly of Ruiz, while recognising the appeal of a contest between two prominent Mexican-American fighters.

“I want to give a big shoutout to Andy Ruiz, he is a great fighter and my heart is with him, he is like family to me,” he said. “But, at the end of the day, I believe that he would love the same – an opportunity to fight ‘The Mexican Monster’ – and for us it would be a great opportunity.”

Ruiz, 37, returned from two years of inactivity against Damian Knyba earlier this month. He was dropped and suffered the third defeat of his professional career, but has indicated that he intends to continue boxing.

A meeting with Benavidez would therefore depend on both fighters’ progress. Benavidez must first meet his WBC obligation against Cieslak, while the proposed fights with Opetaia and either Bivol or Beterbiev would also need to happen before the heavyweight move his father envisages.