The criticism has been relentless, but Mauricio Sulaiman expects it to subside now that David Benavidez has accepted the opportunity to perform as a light heavyweight.
Sulaiman and his World Boxing Council pressed Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) to choose between being the interim champion and mandatory challenger at both super middleweight and light heavyweight.
At 168 pounds, Benavidez waited more than two years as the No. 1 contender behind undisputed champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs), who repeatedly avoided the Phoenix fighter – especially this year, by selecting former junior middleweight champion Jaime Munguia and unseasoned power puncher Edgar Berlanga as opponents.
Sulaiman was blasted by critics and fans for not stripping the four-division champion Alvarez, whose home country – Mexico – is the same as the WBC’s.
“It’s been too much hype from the public and media who do not understand the sport of boxing,” Sulaiman told BoxingScene on Wednesday. “We are not promoters who make fights. We administer the championships.”
Benavidez reduced the pressure on Sulaiman by choosing to pursue the 175-pound belt, with Sulaiman assuring the 27-year-old contender that he is first in line to meet the winner of the Oct. 12 undisputed light heavyweight fight between three-belt champion Artur Beterbiev and World Boxing Association titleholder Dmitry Bivol in Saudi Arabia.
“It’s his turn,” Sulaiman told BoxingScene. “There’s no more to look into.”
Yet, another sanctioning body, the International Boxing Federation, did take a step toward stripping Alvarez of his belt and undisputed claim by rejecting his request for an exception from fighting his little-known IBF mandatory, William Scull, of Cuba.
Representatives for Scull and the IBF’s next-highest-ranked fighter, Vladimir Shishkin, are bracing for the belt to be stripped, leaving those two to schedule a title bout.
As for Benavidez, his promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz, said the fighter wants to “stop wasting time” being dodged by Alvarez, who has said it will take a minimum of $150 million for him to fight Benavidez.
“I love the way David Benavidez is moving, becoming master of his own fate, not waiting on Canelo,” fight analyst Chris Algieri said on Wednesday’s episode of ProBox TV’s “Deep Waters.” “He always has the best answers. He’s a fighter. That’s what you want to hear from a young champion.”
Fellow analyst Paulie Malignaggi said Alvarez’s selection of Berlanga at a time when Benavidez is free to fight and will now move on to the light heavyweight division, ends this disappointing chapter.
“I like Benavidez moving toward another world championship, but this guy at the top [Alvarez] … it’s the biggest, most outright, blatant duck in the history of boxing.”
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