Boxing
Former light heavyweight champion wants David Benavidez clash
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Joe Smith Jr. is ready to fight David Benavidez, should he step up.
The 26-year-old American is the current 168lb interim champion for the WBC, but he appears no closer to a match-up with Saul ’Canelo’ Alvarez after the Mexican agreed to fight Jermall Charlo to defend his undisputed status.
Benavidez is undefeated in his 27 fights so far, with 23 knockouts to his name, most recently defeating one of Canelo’s erstwhile foes, Caleb Plant.
He has also said that if he cannot land a high-profile bout at his current weight, he would entertain moving up, with no undisputed fight between champions Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev currently agreed.
However, Smith Jr. is ready.
“I’d be open to that fight,” Smith told BoxingScene.com. “I never turned down any fight.”
In Smith’s last fight, in June 2022, he fell to unified champion Beterbiev with a second-round knockout, but the 33-year-old American wants back into the ring.
“I’m just waiting to see if any offers come my way.”
