By and large, Jermall Charlo has remained out of the public eye. With a nagging back injury forcing the WBC middleweight titlist to withdraw from his optional title defense against Maciej Sulecki earlier this year, the 32-year-old is chomping at the bit.

Recently, much to the delight of his fans, Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs) revealed that his health has finally returned and he’ll look to grace the ring in the first quarter of 2023. Although he has a long list of challengers awaiting him at 160-pounds, Charlo believes that a showdown between himself and current WBC light heavyweight belt holder, Dmitry Bivol, would be a mouthwatering one.

Bivol though, once Charlo expressed his desire to face him, appeared uninterested in taking the pugnacious Houston native up on his fight offer. As news continues to circulate, Jose Benavidez Sr. has rolled his eyes in disgust. In his view, Charlo’s actions are nothing short of absurd.

“The only f------ thing he needs is a f------ red nose,” said Benavidez to Fight Hub TV. “He’s a f------ clown walking around. I think he fucking joined a circus or something you know.”

In all likelihood, a matchup between Charlo and Bivol is incredibly unlikely. In addition to Charlo and Bivol competing two weight classes apart, the Russian star ostensibly has bigger business to attend to.

Earlier this year, pegged as a gargantuan underdog, the 31-year-old turned back the brazen challenge of Canelo Alvarez, soundly beating the pound-for-pound luminary. Before closing out his year, Bivol would go on to hand Gilberto Ramirez the first defeat of his career.

In 2023, Bivol is hoping that he’ll face fellow light heavyweight champion, Artur Beterbiev. Charlo, on the other hand, could opt to defend his WBC title or put to bed his perpetual flirting with the super middleweight division and officially move up in weight.

If, however, Charlo manages to hammer out a deal and face Bivol, Benavidez views it as a complete waste of time. As Benavidez sifts through Charlo’s record and breaks down his overall skills, he has a difficult time envisioning him beating the elite of the super middleweight division, let alone the upper echelon of 175.

“He can't even beat anybody at 168. What makes you think he can beat somebody at 175? I don’t know what the f--- he’s on.”