David Benavidez is ready for his major breakthrough, but marquee matchups still seem to escape him. 

To land the career-defining fights that he desires, the 168-pound knockout artist is willing to move up to 175-pounds to take on the light heavyweight champions and top contenders, father and trainer Jose Benavidez Sr. told BoxingScene.com in an interview. 

“David is an animal. He trains super hard. He's focused and disciplined. We want to stay active and keep advancing. We'll fight anybody in order to make our history. We're always in the gym and staying ready,” said Benavidez Sr.

“If the Artur Beterbiev fight is presented to us, we'll definitely take it. We are open to testing the waters at 175 pounds. I would also love a fight with Dmitry Bivol. They have sparred before. Gilberto Ramirez is another fight we want. We're ready. If no one wants to fight at 168, we're going to have to move and bounce back up and down. We're ready to test our skills and give the fans the fights they want.”

The 25-year-old Benavidez (26-0, 23 KOs) is a former two-time super middleweight champion who has lost his titles outside of the ring due to substance abuse and missing weight. 

Benavidez has bounced back after his setbacks over his last three fights dating back to March 2021. Most recently, he stopped David Lemieux inside three rounds. 

“People don't want to fight him. The Charlos don't want to fight him. Caleb Plant doesn't want to fight him. David Morrell doesn't want to fight him. Demetrius Andrade doesn't want to fight him. At the end of the day, we can't force these guys to fight David,” said Benavidez Sr.

Benavidez Sr. said he had a handshake agreement with David Morrell’s team to fight the upstart Cuban prospect later this year, but the deal ultimately fell through. 

Benavidez wants to fight one more time this year by either November or December, and he’s willing to take risks doing so. 

“He has a lot of skills that people haven't even seen yet. People say, 'he can't box.' Well, he hasn't had the need to box. He's been stronger than his opponents,” said Benavidez Sr.

“With Beterbiev, you have to move around. You can't just come forward. That guy hits hard. He's super smart and very intelligent. For somebody like that, we have to be super careful. We would have to box and use the jab and head movement and use some angles. 

“People want to see fights that are really dangerous. One loss doesn't mean anything in our minds. He's a warrior and willing to risk his undefeated record.”

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or on www.ManoukAkopyan.com.