David Benavidez roasts 'scared' Canelo Alvarez, sets sights on Dmitry Bivol after Zurdo masterclass

David Benavidez is already considering what’s next for him in boxing just days after obliterating Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez in his cruiserweight debut , and wresting the WBA and WBO world titles from the former champion's waist in style, thanks to a brutal six-round knockout. “The Mexican Monster” brings an uncomfortable world of pain for everyone he fights — whether at super middleweight, where he became the youngest 168-pound champion in that division's history at age 21; at light heavyweight (175 pounds), where he won the WBC world title; or at cruiserweight’s 200 pounds, as he proved this past Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, where “Zurdo” was just the latest to wilt under relentless pressure, unconventional volume and combination speed. Previously, Benavidez's story was told in the shadow of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez — a fighter he continually called out for a match that seemed inevitable after Benavidez's bludgeoning of Caleb Plant in 2023.

But “Canelo” dismissed the challenge and never gave him the payday, and so Benavidez took something from “Canelo” without even throwing a punch: This year’s Cinco de Mayo date, one of boxing's most prized slots . Speaking to Uncrowned on Tuesday — just three days on from what he described as the most fulfilling victory of his career — Benavidez looked like he had barely been touched. Naturally, the talk turned to what's next.

There is unfinished business at light heavyweight, he said, plus other challenges at cruiserweight. And the sport's chief financier, Turki Alalshikh, even lobbed Oleksandr Usyk into the mix at heavyweight. "[An Usyk fight] definitely interests me,” Benavidez told “The Ariel Helwani Show.

” “A lot of people don't think I could beat Usyk, but if I put my mind to it, and trained for a year … I could beat anyone in the world. " Jai Opetaia, the most technically accomplished puncher in the cruiserweight class, is a more realistic target for now, though Benavidez is reluctant to pursue it if the Zuffa Boxing belt is what's at stake. "I have no interest in that [title],” he said.