David Benavidez and David Morrell put on a show today, delivering a thrilling battle that will be remembered as one of the year’s most exciting slugfests. Both fighters gave it their all, but in the end, there could only be one winner. Despite Morrell’s impressive performance, Benavidez walked away with the unanimous decision victory.

The judges scored the fight as follows: Tim Cheatham 118-108, Patricia Morse Jarman 115-111, and Steve Weisfeld 115-111, all in favor of Benavidez. Now, the big question remains: who will ‘The Mexican Monster’ face next? Could a fight with Canelo Alvarez be on the horizon? Well, fight fans, there’s some exciting news regarding Benavidez’s next potential bout, as The Ring Magazine has provided an update.

Earlier yesterday, The Ring Magazine wrote on X, “The Ring has learned that Turki Alalshikh wants to match the winner of the Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol rematch with the winner of tonight’s fight between David Benavidez and David Morrell. Alalshikh will invite Benavidez/Morrell to be ringside for the rematch on Feb 22nd.”

Benavidez, the new WBA (Regular) light heavyweight and ‘Interim’ WBC light heavyweight champion, has been asking for a fight against Canelo for years. But the WBC and Canelo didn’t seem interested in the fight. So, Benavidez moved to the light heavyweight division and a fight against the winner of Beterbiev vs Bivol was on the table from the beginning.

Meanwhile, even Benavidez seems to have confirmed his next fight. Ring Magazine reported on X following Benavidez’s win, “David Benavidez has now confirmed his position as the WBC mandatory challenger to fight the winner of the Feb 22nd Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol rematch for the undisputed light-heavyweight world titles.”

So, what about Canelo Alvarez? Who will Canelo fight? 

David Benavidez busy in light heavyweight; Canelo Alvarez may face these two

While David Benavidez remains occupied in the light heavyweight division, Canelo Alvarez has two potential opponents for his May 3 return. Trainer and manager Eddy Reynoso revealed William Scull and Christian Mbilli as frontrunners for the Cinco de Mayo weekend fight.

Scull, the IBF super middleweight champion, won his title last October by decision over Vladimir Shishkin. Mbilli, a Cameroonian-French contender, defeated Sergiy Derevyanchenko last August.

“Well, there are several [names], there is William Scull, there is the other one ranked by the WBO, [Christian] Mbilli, I think he lives in Canada,” Reynoso told TV Azteca. “They are the ones that are more or less there right now, but there is nothing concrete.”

Canelo’s next fight is expected to set up a super fight against undisputed champion Terence Crawford, who recently claimed the WBA super welterweight title.

That said, it appears both Canelo Alvarez and David Benavidez are moving on to their next fights. Whether they will ever meet in the ring is still a mystery, but for now, both fighters seem to have pretty great fights lined up. Who do you think Benavidez will fight next—Beterbiev or Bivol?