Jose Benavidez Snr Discusses Potential Fights With Jai Opetai, Dmitry Bivol, Andy Ruiz And Oleksandr Usyk

MISSION VALLEY, Calif.– There is no question that one of the hottest fighters in boxing today is unified cruiserweight champion David Benavidez (32-0, 26 KOs). The future looks bright, and according to his father and trainer, Jose Benavidez Snr, the names they want have circulated on social media, but other names are new targets he hadn’t discussed before.

While at the Isaac Cruz vs. Nestor Bravo press conference, Benavidez Snr took time to discuss his fighter Daniel Blancas’s progress, who is also on Saturday’s card, along with an update on both his sons (Jose Benavidez Jnr and David Benavidez).

After his last fight in February 2025, Benavidez Jnr has been seen participating in the training camps of Team Benavidez and taking it all in. As his involvement becomes more apparent, is Benavidez Jnr going all in on the training side of boxing?

“I’m very excited with [Jose Benavidez] Jnr as he was a big part of David Benavidez’s last fight,” Benavidez Snr told FightsATW. “He did a great job. He has a lot of knowledge and knows his brother a lot. I was very happy and impressed with his performance, and I want to keep him. With me, David, and him, no one can stop us. I think we make a pretty good team, and I’m so proud of both of them.”

Any discussion involving Benavidez Snr always turns to what’s next for his son, David. At Saturday’s Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn event in Las Vegas, Nevada, David stepped into the ring and accepted a fight with Jai Opetaia, who had just stopped Noel Mikaelian. Two days later, the WBC announced that David would fight Michal Cieslak next, and that the winner would have to face Opetaia immediately afterward. With FightsATW reporting that Benavidez vs. Cieslak will take place next, Benavidez Snr made it clear who’s next while also commenting on potential opponents in the future.

“That’s the guy [Michal Cieslak] he’s supposed to be fighting in December. He’s the WBC world champion. That’s the fight, and we’ll probably be announcing something pretty soon.”

Benavidez Snr added, “We want Opetaia. That’s why we were at that fight [Garcia vs Benn]. Maybe go down and get a fight with [Dmitry] Bivol, and then maybe after that, go to heavyweight and get a fight with Andy Ruiz or [Oleksandr] Usyk.”

If this ends up being the list of opponents Benavidez is looking to face, he could be on a career run that will see him among the best in the sport.  Let’s hope that industry politics don’t get in the way of these fights happening in the future.

Abraham Gonzalez

Abraham Gonzalez is a 2x award-winning writer, International Boxing Hall of Fame voter, founder and publisher of FightsATW. His journalistic work has been published and used across several platforms, including online, network TV, and promotional companies. He is an alumnus of an American Public University and a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). Abraham was the Managing Editor for NYFights, Big Fight Weekend, and contributed to The Ring Magazine, FanSidedMMA, and ProBoxTV.

See author's posts