Two-time super-middleweight champion, David Benavidez, has revealed his selections for the top three pound-for-pound fighters in the sport, with the notable omissions of both Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and Terence Crawford making his list more intriguing than most.
Benavidez defeated Ronald Gavril via split-decision back in 2017 to claim the WBC super-middleweight title but was later stripped of the belt after testing positive for cocaine.
Two years after his initial title win, ‘The Mexican Monster’ regained the belt with a bloodied knockout over Anthony Dirrell, becoming the second-youngest two-time champion in history, although he was once again stripped after missing weight ahead of his first title defence.
Benavidez remains undefeated and is aiming to become a three-time champion, with consistent call-out’s of the undisputed king Canelo and a position as the WBC’s mandatory challenger for his title.
As he continues to seek greatness in the sport, the Mexican opted for three champions as his top three pound-for-pound fighters in an interview with ES News.
“The number one guy I think is [Naoya] Inoue. Two, I still think [Oleksandr Usyk] from the way that he came up through cruiserweight and to heavyweight, and number three is Devin Haney, his track record is unmatched. Look at his track record, he has fought a lot of great champions.”
Benavidez did go on to say that boxing is ‘on fire,’ and that he struggled to number the best in the world, mentioning Gervonta Davis, Teofimo Lopez, Crawford and Canelo as up there too.
Many fans remain hopeful that Benavidez will finally get his much-desired showdown with the latter in 2024 in what is perceived to be one of the must-be-made clashes of next year.
However first he must overcome the undefeated, two-weight champion, Demetrius Andrade, who he faces on November 25 in Las Vegas, in one of the standout cards of the last quarter.