After Gilberto Ramirez, Benavidez is taking a soft-touch fight that nobody asked for. Arizona fans will reject this mismatch–and he could have faced Opetaia instead.
They are talking about boxing him in Arizona soon against a guy called Michal Cieslak, 28-2-22 KO from Poland.
Then him fighting Jai Opetaia of Australia next Cinco De Mayo. That is very far off, he could step in and fight him immediately if interested.
Some things to note on this right off the bat;
- Coming off the Gilberto Ramirez win last Cinco De Mayo, this is a massive step down that fans will see as a duck.
- Cieslak is a complete unknown to casual fans–nobody in Arizona is paying to see that name.
- He could have gone straight into the Opetaia unification, which is the fight everyone wants.
- Instead, he’s padding his resume with a soft-touch European
- The Glendale homecoming should be a celebration, but it’ll turn into frustration over a foregone conclusion.
- Beating Cieslak does nothing for his legacy or public perception at this stage.
- This screams “playing it safe” after finally reaching the top–and fans hate that.
- The “collecting more hardware” excuse won’t wash with anyone who knows boxing.
- He risks losing all the momentum and goodwill he built with the Ramirez victory.
- If he gets booed in his own backyard, he’ll have no one to blame but himself.
David Benavidez had that victory this year vs Ramirez but needs to build on that immediately.
He essentially took over Cinco De Mayo from Saul Canelo Alvarez the fight performance had been so impressive over Zurdo Ramirez recently.
This fight they are talking about for him at the moment is no good.
Simple.
There is going to be one heck of a back lash against him if he signs that fight, not just in Arizona and America — but around the globe.
Rest assured on that.
Fight Opetaia or someone like Bivol or Beterbiev next up immediately — they are the fights spectators are calling for in the sport.
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