“The UFC whatever (Apex Meta), he couldn’t even fill it in,” Jose Benavidez Sr. said. MillCity Boxing about Jai Opetaia. “So, you have to have a crowd too. You have to have fans to make big fights happen.”
Opetaia defeated Brandon Glanton by unanimous decision in that fight after joining Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing banner. The event was part of Zuffa’s continued effort to establish himself in boxing after pulling Opetaia away from the traditional sanctioning body route.
Benavidez Sr. believe popularity and commercial value now carry as much weight as titles or rankings.
“You can be the best in the world, but if you don’t sell, you don’t sell,” Benavidez Sr. says. “Now, if you’re a YouTuber and you’re selling, guess what? You’re going to get what you want. We’re seeing that these days. There’s guys who have a lot of followers, and they’re getting paid more than anything about real fighters. That’s it.”
The comments drew mixed reactions to X, with some fans believing that Benavidez Sr. making excuses to avoid a dangerous fight against Opetaia.
Social media response
“They’re ducking him (Opetaia) like crazy,” posted user UK Boxing News.
“F#KING APOLOGIES😂😂,” posted user drboxing1.
The criticism comes after Benavidez Sr. recently downplayed Opetaia’s ability as a fighter as well, saying he didn’t consider him more talented than David Morrell. That combination of technical criticism and business criticism has led some fans to believe that Team Benavidez is trying to cool public demand for a future fight with the hard-hitting cruiserweight champion.
Others see it differently and believe that Benavidez Sr. simply being realistic about the business side of boxing, where ticket sales, broadcasters and social media following often carry as much value as in-ring performances.
