Benavidez's record stands at an impressive 30-0. He made his light-heavyweight debut with a win over Oleksandr Gvozdyk for the WBC 'Interim' title. In February, he added another notch to his belt with a unanimous decision victory over David Morrell Jr.
The WBC light-heavyweight title fell into Benavidez's hands after Dmitry Bivol vacated it to chase a third fight with Artur Beterbiev. Now, Benavidez is looking at his options and discussing potential opponents.
In a recent interview with Fight Hype, Benavidez was asked about the possibility of facing heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk. He responded:
"To be honest with you I have to deal with these monsters in this weight class first. Usyk? I don't think I have enough experience to go up against Usyk. I'm just being 100% honest. Like you say never say never, maybe in the future, maybe in 5 or 6 years but by then Usyk will be 40 something or even older. I have tremendous respect for Usyk and he's the greatest of all time."
Benavidez's honesty about his current limitations shows a level of self-awareness that's rare in boxing. It's worth noting that Usyk originally planned to move down to cruiserweight after beating Tyson Fury, which could make a future matchup even less likely.
Looking ahead, Benavidez has a few options on the table. He could move up to 200lbs and potentially face Gilberto 'Zurdo' Ramirez, the unified WBA and WBO champion. Alternatively, he might defend his WBC light-heavyweight title this summer.
The front-runner for Benavidez's first title defense seems to be Callum Smith, the current WBO 'Interim' light-heavyweight champion. This fight would give Benavidez a chance to solidify his position in the division and set up even bigger matchups down the line.
As Benavidez continues to climb the ranks and collect titles, boxing fans will be watching closely to see how this young champion's career unfolds.