Benavidez Draws Line, Rejects Boxing’s Beltless Circus

David Benavidez says he will never fight opponents who ignore the traditional four sanctioning bodies. The WBC light heavyweight champion Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) feels that fighters who follow this practice undermine the sport, making it less prestigious.

The “Junk Food” Era of Prizefighting

A growing number of mercenary-like fighters, popular on social media, have taken advantage of their large followings to arrange fights without titles. They’re the equivalent of celebrity-like matches with no sporting value. It’s junk food-type fights that entertain their followers, but undermine boxing. These fighters bypass the rankings and attempt to schedule fights with popular opponents.

A Blow to Boxing’s Prestige

‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez views this as like “taking away the Super Bowl” when fighters bypass the sanctioning bodies. He told Salvador Rodriguez of ESPN Knockout, “I will never fight with them.”

What Benavidez says will be music to the ears of the four sanctioning bodies, as the last thing they want is to be devalued, ignored, or replaced by a newly created organization.

Fighters who ignore the sanctioning bodies could be more common in the future. Once they gain a large following by fighting for the traditional four alphabet belts, they ignore the belts and focus on just lining up money fights. If there’s a belt at stake, it’s only used as marketing. They then vacate the title if they win it because it’s not what they’re after.

Shakur Stevenson: The New Prototype

Shakur Stevenson is an example of that. He’s targeting a fight against WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez for January 2026, not for his title. He wants the payday. Shakur has already said he’ll give the WBO belt to his ‘brother’ Keyshawn Davis after he wins it.

Enter Zuffa Boxing — and the Temptation Ahead

Benavidez will likely be in demand by the new Zuffa Boxing league when it goes into operation in 2026. It’ll be interesting to see if they can poach Benavidez by offering him a deal that he can’t refuse, to have him as a draw to lure fans to subscribe to watch him in the new league.

Having Benavidez in the new league will initially capture the interest of many fans. What could result in them quickly jumping ship is if he fights prospects in total mismatches with no entertainment value.

The WBC light heavyweight champion Benavidez defends against Anthony Yarde (27-3, 24 KOs) in the 12-round headliner on The Ring IV event on November 22, 2025, at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The event will be shown live on DAZN PPV.