David Banavidez’s promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz, reports that he is working on a fight with the WBO tussenty light heavyweight champion Callum Smith for October. He says he is open to fighting the UK for the ‘real agreement’. The other two possible locations are Dallas and Las Vegas.
Benavidez vs. Smith: October
It would be a difficult one for Benavidez (30-0, 24 COs), who was elevated to the WBC lightweight champion status in April last year when the previous Beltholder, Dmitri Biblical, chose to stare at Artur Bererbiev in a trilogy rather than defending against him. Banavidez at the time held the WBC -Tuss -entire belt.
Banavidez, 28, recorded a lot of punishment from David Morrell in his last fight on February 1, and he might have lost it if the Cuban talent baked him in the first half of the fight instead of baking a to-to-to-to-that way. In the second half, Morrell became the best of an exhausted, whipped benavidez.
Smith (31-2, 22 CO’s) does not have the skills to discuss benavidez. So, if the fight occurs, he will take it out of close with him and make it a war. It will be another grueling battle for ‘The Mexican Monster’, but he can get callum from there if he can resist his body shots.
Benavidez’s vulnerability: body shots
What makes Smith dangerous to Benavidez is his body that strikes. David was injured in the body in his fight against Oleksandr Gvozdyk last year. It is an area that is clearly the Achilles heel of Banavidez.
Most of his opponents during his career have targeted his brick -like headAnd choose to take advantage of his non -existent defense. It doesn’t work. Benavidez can take head shots well. Although Morrell dropped him late, he got up and continued to fight well. If Callum can attack benavidez’s body, he can put himself on the heel and get a standstill.
Promoter Eyes UK Deal
“Or fights are a good fight,” promoter Sampson Lewkowicz said The ring about a fight with Anthony Yarde of Callum Smith vs. Banavidez. ‘It’s up to Eddie Hearn whether he wants to do the agreement (for benavidez against Smith). We are also ready to go to England and fight Smith if the agreement is right. ‘
Hearn’s problem: Smith’s future
It would be a surprise if the promoter of Callum, Eddie Hearn, pulls the trigger on this battle, because if he loses, he will miss all the millions he can get against the Dmitri BiVolt against Artur Betterur Betbiev III winner. If you are Hearn, do you really want to throw in Smith with benavidez and lose the guaranteed giant pay day against the Bivol-Beterbiev trilogy winner? I wouldn’t do that if I was Hearn.
Benavidez also takes a risk. If he is knocked out with a body shot of Smith, he can say goodbye to the money he would get BISHAL or BETTERBiev forever. Those guys are too old to wait for benavidez to rebuild after a loss of callum.
In addition, Biblical has shown that he does not want anything with the fight against ‘the Mexican monster’. Some people believe that the sparring session they had has something to do with his reluctance to face him. According to Banavidez, he lit Biblical with a spate of shots that hurt him.
Smith’s age can be a factor in this battle. He is 35 and came last year of a painful fight against Joshua Buatsi. Callum won a unanimous 12 round decision, but there were moments in the fight where it looked like Buatsi was going to knock him out.
Buatsi is a larger puncher than benavidez. Still, the volume that strikes from ‘The Mexican Monster’ can be too much for Smith if he can’t suppress himself with his body attack.
Last updated on 06/18/2025
