David Benavidez has been warned against moving up to the heavyweight division.
Benavidez proved his worth as one of the best fighters in the world on Saturday when he successfully stepped up to cruiserweight to dethrone WBA and WBO champion Gilberto Ramirez with a sixth round stoppage win.
It is the third division that Benavidez has held gold after two previous spells as WBC super-middleweight champion along with his current reign as WBC light heavyweight champion, and fans are eagerly anticipating what he could attempt to do next.
There has been some speculation that ‘The Mexican Monster’ may move up to the banner division for a showdown with heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk, but the other current world heavyweight champion has warned that it wouldn’t be a good idea.
Fabio Wardley is the man who holds the WBO heavyweight strap, and speaking to Fight Hub TV, he explained why Benavidez shouldn’t attempt to make the move further up in weight.
“It might be a step too far. There’s a large difference. From where he was before to jump to cruiserweight there’s a difference, and then to go from cruiserweight to heavyweight, there’s an even bigger gap as well. It doesn’t seem like anything in the realm of possibility at the moment.”
Wardley returns to action this weekend, putting his title on the line against countryman Daniel Dubois at the Co-Op Live in Manchester, where the Ipswich fighter will be hoping a victory there could lead to his own future clash with Usyk.
Meanwhile, Benavidez has said he wants to drop back down to 175lbs to face Dmitry Bivol for the undisputed light-heavyweight title.