Opetaia says Benavidez and Zurdo are avoiding him in 2026

Jai Opetaia says David Benavidez and WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion Gilberto Zurdo Ramirez “duck” him by fighting on May 2, 2026. He says that they don’t want to fight.

Opetaia calls it a duck

Jai doesn’t understand why Zurdo (48-1, 30 KOs) is facing Benavidez, who only recently moved up to 168 in 2024. He says he should fight him in a three-way unification contest.

IBF cruiserweight champion Opetaia (28-0, 22 KOs) says he wants to fight the winner of the Benavidez vs. Zurdo fights, not because he wants one of them. His focus is on capturing the WBA and WBO titles to become undisputed at cruiserweight.

‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez (31-0, 25 KOs) has a surprise on his face when asked at his post-fight press conference last Saturday night if he would stay at cruiserweight and face Opetaia if he prevailed against Zurdo Ramirez. Apparently he didn’t expect to be questioned about why he didn’t choose Jai.

Fans see Benavidez’s hesitation

Although Benavidez said he would, he didn’t show the same energy he had when talking about the Ramirez fight. His behavior was noticed by fans on social media, who saw it as a sign that he was not keen to mess with Opetaia.

It’s one thing moving up to cruiserweight to face the 34-year-old Ramirez, but a completely different situation facing Jai with his one-punch power and lightning-quick hand speed. If Benavidez chooses not to fight Opetaia, that’s understandable, and one can’t fault him for not taking that risk.

Benaivdez has a good thing right now, beating fighters at 175 with his volume punch, speed and size. Going to cruiserweight to fight the King of the division, in Opetaia, could derail his career.

Cruiserweight King speaks

“Of course they duck. It’s very clear that they don’t want to fight,” said Jai Opetaia. Jai McAllisterwhich responds to the fact that David Benavidez will next face WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez on May 2, 2026.

It will say a lot about Benavidez’s career if he moves up to cruiserweight to face Opetaia for his IBF belt in his first fight. He will show his mettle by fighting him right away rather than going down in the cruiserweight division first against an aging 34-year-old Zuro Ramirez, who is coming off back-to-back 12-round decisions against Yuniel Dorticos and Chris Billiam-Smith.

“In my eyes, you want to keep getting better, and you want to keep upgrading and proving that you’re the best,” Opetaia said, “But these guys see it in other ways. Who knows what they’re chasing? What’s he proving? What’s Zurdo trying to prove? Prove that he’s the best in the cruiserweight division.”

Ramirez would fight Benavidez because he believes he can naturally win. With Benavidez now fighting on Turki Alalshikh’s Riyadh season cards, it also makes financial sense for Gilberto to fight him. Not only does he have a chance to win, but the money will make it worth it.

Zurdo takes the easy way out

“He’s fighting a guy (Benavidez) who’s coming up two weight classes,” Opetaia said of Zurdo. “What does that mean? You tell me. What can I say about this? If he wants to be the best, he has to beat the best. He certainly doesn’t.”

Benavidez moved up to the 175-lb division three fights ago against Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June 15, 2024. He didn’t look good until last Saturday night, when he fought 34-year-old Anthony Yarde, a fighter tailor-made for Benavidez.

“Yeah, of course. It’s obviously something we want to do,” Opetaia said when asked if he’d pick the winner of the Benavidez vs. Wants to fight Zurdo Ramirez fight. “We don’t chase fighters. We chase the belts.”