The story goes something like this. Dmitry Bivol and David Benavidez were sparring in the gym when Bivol suddenly caught Benavidez and dropped him with a jab. The witness was Peter Berg, the famous director of films like Mile 22 and Lone Survivor. Berg, a boxing enthusiast who co-owns the Wild Card West Boxing Club in Hollywood, recounted the entire story on episode #2280 of The Joe Rogan Experience. 

“The hardest punch I’ve ever seen anyone throw in my life,” said the veteran writer, director, and producer. So far, so good. The behind-the-scenes story became even more significant because Bivol is expected to fight Benavidez, thanks to the latest update by the World Boxing Council (WBC). Needless to say, Berg’s comment immediately gained traction. 

But here is the thing—he actually got it wrong. Less than 24 hours after the podcast went live, the veteran director posted an Instagram story to retract his statement. It wasn’t Bivol dropping Benavidez, but the other way around. “I got it wrong… I don’t know why I remembered it wrong. But I did.”

Peter Berg retracted his earlier statements from the podcast on Instagram, which was reshared by Joe Rogan on his Instagram stories. The filmmaker’s initial comment actually caused some to hope that Bivol would comfortably defend his title. But, of course, that’s not a guarantee now. Commending Benavidez, Berg added that it was ‘El Bandera Roja’ who dropped Bivol with an “incredible f—–g jab.” “David Benavidez. I am sorry I said that [Bivol dropped Benavidez]. I got it wrong. Much respect for you. You’re a f—–g beast. And I hope you get Canelo [Alvarez].”, Berg said in the IG story.

But Canelo Alvarez’s schedule looks full—he will fight  William Scull in May and Terence Crawford in September. His much-touted bout against Jake Paul turned out to be a dud—it fell through. Alvarez has signed a four-match contract with Turki Al-Sheikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority (GEA). While the two fights are confirmed for this year, there is no certainty on who will challenge Alvarez in 2026. So, is it possible that Alvarez might fight Benavidez early next year? 

Canelo Alvarez vs David Benavidez: Exploring the possibility of a fight

Canelo Alvarez’s opponent for next year could be David Benavidez. Or Bivol. However, Turki Al-Sheikh himself is leaning on Benavidez. “I hope, I hope that one day I can convince Canelo to fight Benavidez,” he said. And if Benavidez’s words are to be believed, there was already a possibility of the match-up between the two. 

‘The Red Flag’ said there were talks of a possible fight between the two, and he was ready to throw himself in for $5M. “They offered Canelo $70M to fight me; that’s before Pay Per View… They offered me a flat fee of $5M, and I said yes. We had agreed; we said yes. Then we never heard back.” Benavidez went on to claim that “This fight is inevitable. Everybody’s asking for it.. I’m not scared of Canelo. I feel like I could beat him.” 

While that still remains a speculation, a fight with Bivol is more likely now. The latest update from WBC reads: “Undisputed champion Artur Beterbiev will fight a rematch with Dmitry Bivol on February 22 in Riyadh. Interim champion David Benavidez will fight David Morrell on February 1. The winner will be the mandatory challenger for the division to fight the winner of Beterbiev vs. Bivol.” 

There is a reason why even Benavidez is looking forward to it. As he explained recently, since Dmitry Bivol had already defeated Alvarez in 2022, defeating the undisputed light heavyweight champion would make his case even stronger for the Mexican boxer’s team. So far, no date has been fixed for the high-octane match between the two.

And if they do end up fighting next year, who do you think will win? Do let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.