Benavidez’s Trainer Jose Sr. Seals The Deal For A Beterbiev Fight After Their Separate November 22nd Bouts

Trainer Jose Benavidez Sr. confirmed today that Artur Beterbiev will be the next opponent for WBC light heavyweight champion David Benavidez following their respective fights on the November 22nd card on DAZN at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Jose Sr. says there’s a possibility that Beterbiev could be moved up to the main event to face Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) if his opponent, Anthony Yarde (27-3, 24 KOs) suffers an injury in training camp.

Beterbiev Fight Is Accepted

“We’ve already accepted a fight against Beterbiev. We’ve already said, ‘Yes, we’re ready to go,’ and then hopefully in the next fight, we could fight Bivol. Those are the two fights that make sense right now,” said trainer Jose Benavidez Sr. to MillCity Boxing about his son, David Benavidez, wanting to fight Artur Beterbiev next after his title defense against Anthony Yarde on November 22nd.

Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KOs) is fighting Deon Nicholson (22-1, 18 KOs) in a light heavyweight contest on the undercard of Benavidez-Yarde in Riyadh. Artur, 40, had hoped to fight IBF, WBA, and WBO 175-lb champion Dmitry Bivol in the trilogy match, but that match couldn’t happen. Bivol had back surgery and is recovering.

Bivol announced his back surgery earlier this month on August 8th. Nicholson, 35, is a stay-busy fight for Beterbiev to stay active, because he hasn’t fought since his 12-round majority decision defeat to Bivol on February 22nd in Riyadh.

The Backup Plan for Yarde

“If Anthony Yarde gets injured, they’ll step up Beterbiev to fight David [on the November 22nd card],” said Benavidez Sr.

Fans on social media have questioned why Benavidez chose to fight Yarde instead of Beterbiev on the November 22nd card. There’s not a high amount of interest in Benavidez-Yarde, as the British fighter, Yarde, was knocked out by Beterbiev in the eighth round on January 28, 2023.

“We’ve been trying to chase him. He didn’t want to take the fight with David,” said Jose Sr. about why Benavidez isn’t going straight to Bivol next. “We offered him a fight, Turki Alalshikh and PBC, and he didn’t want to take it. We can’t make him fight. So, the only one that stepped up and said yes was Beterbiev. So, that’s the one.

“I heard he had back surgery. Hopefully, he recovers and gets well soon, and we get the opportunity to fight him. We’re ready,” said Benavidez Sr. about Bivol.