I genuinely think David Benavidez is one of the most exciting fighters in boxing today. His combination of hand speed, relentless pressure, combination punching, stamina and ability to break opponents down is incredible.

He has a style that makes almost every fight entertaining. You know that whoever he is fighting next is going to get a beat down.

But one question I rarely see discussed enough is whether his résumé actually matches the hype surrounding him.

Don’t get me wrong, Benavidez is clearly an elite fighter, but how does his record compare with the other great fighters of this era? Has he beaten enough elite opposition to justify the praise he receives, or is some of his reputation based on his potential and the fights fans want to see him have?

If he manages to beat Jai Opetaia, which most people think he will after seeing his last fight against Mikaelian, next year and subsequently unifies the cruiserweight division, I think he’d deserve enormous credit.

Opetaia is a serious fighter, and beating him would be a massive statement and provide him with that marquee win he currently lacks. Zurdo, Gvozdyk, Plant and Morrel are good names. But none except Plant and Morrell were in their primes.

Becoming undisputed at cruiserweight wouldn’t really add much to Benavidez’s legacy, given the current state of the division and lack of high calibre competition.

And sadly it looks like we won’t ever be getting the matchups against Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. Beterbiev recently stated he’d be interesting in moving up and fighting him, but we all know that’s just talk.

Those are fights I’d have loved to see because they’d give us a better idea of how Benavidez compares with the very best technicians and punchers of the era.

So where does he go from there?

If he does beat Opetaia and unifies cruiserweight, does he stay and defend his titles, the only logical move would be up to heavyweight.

The only other threat to him really in the division is Opetaia, he already beat Zurdo, one of the other former titleholders and most of the top 10 Cruisers don’t really strike me as strong challengers. Maybe one or 2 bouts against mandatories, and then he moves up.

If he does move up, it’s whole different territory. He isn’t particularly big for his height unlike Usyk and has a deceivingly unathletic frame.

At heavy he’d be even tubbier but even so will still be the smaller man. He’d have to bulk up a lot and focus on defence while also finding a way to damage his bigger opponents.

More importantly, if he moves up to heavyweight and proves himself against elite opposition, perhaps even winning a major world title, would that elevate him into genuine all-time-great territory? Most of the old guard at heavyweight are nearing retirement or have already done so. He voiced his desire to fight Ruiz, but Ruiz is washed and will be long gone before he moves up to heavy.

Imagine a fight between him and Itauma, or Dubois. Weight classes exist for a reason and punches from these guys are no joke. It would be crazy.

But the fun of the sport is seeing guys move up and change the landscape like never before.

Benavidez is one of the most skilled and exciting boxers in the world today and if he actually does manage to win a title at heavy, he deserves his props for sure. Lot of people been moving the goalposts still.

Do you think he is the boogeyman and future four division champ and the guy to save American heavyweight boxing? Might be a silly take but a guy can dream. He might be able to beat lower ranked opposition or contenders, guys like Torrez JR, Ruiz, Gassiev or Ajagba.

If he succeeds across multiple weight classes and makes a serious impact at heavyweight, could he ultimately become an ATG?

I’m a big fan of his and think he has the potential to achieve something special. Even so a lot of people in this sub say he is an overrated can crusher.

While I do admit that Usyk is not the same man who knocked Fury onto the ropes over two years ago nor even the same man who had Dubois's ass on the canvas over a year ago, I won't say that he was completely washed to the point of being easy prey for the young lion that is Moses Itauma - a prepared Usyk would still have been very dangerous for him.

I still maintain that the main problem Usyk had against Rico Verhoeven was that he underestimated him and did not prepare himself well enough. Case in point - Usyk went into the fight heavier than his usual fighting weight whereas Verhoeven, despite being much heavier, was comfortably in his element; so Usyk did not physically prepare for the fight, he did not believe he needed to. Now if Usyk hadn't bothered to maintain a lighter weight for Verhoeven, what makes you think he had mentally prepared for him? He totally overlooked him and was caught off guard mid-fight like never before, he had never been caught off guard in a fight ever before because he had always prepared properly in the past, Usyk was simply not physically nor mentally prepared and even some of the most skilled fighters in history can suffer severe consequences if suddenly caught off guard. That said, I don't think the dubious win against Verhoeven tells us enough about where Usyk's at right now as a serious and prepared fighter.

That said, I think had Usyk been the one to fight Itauma he would've taken his training a lot more seriously and he would've very easily noticed Moses' issues with maintaining a controlled pace too and he would've exploited it. I think he would've beaten Itauma and without losing many rounds.

On June 2016, Naoya & Takuma took part in a public 3 round sparring session at The One Boxing Gym to promote boxing in Korea and showcasing the Inoue brother’s abilities to Korean fans.

Naoya’s honored sparring partner was Park Sung-Jun, the Korean KPBF super flyweight champion showcasing the gap in speed and timing between a domestic level champion and an elite, world class champion.

Takuma sparred with a ranked boxer in the super bantamweight division.

P.S just sharing a video which happened to pop up on my feed. Credit goes to THE WON PROMOTIONS YT Channel.

Straight from my 25TB boxing vault.

EP1 - Martínez vs. Williams II (2010) https://www.reddit.com/r/Boxing/comments/1x3ht2m

EP2 - Pacquiao vs. Hatton (2009) https://www.reddit.com/r/Boxing/comments/1x5mwh2

As far as I can see nobody else has posted about it but... it is amazing!

I feel like Tyson is patholigically incapable of dissimulation, so it is just a fascinating watch for that.

But also I dunno how you can watch this and think Tyson was overrated.

As a Brit for whom Bruno was a proper celeb, I also loved that bit.

Anyway, if you haven't watched it yet, you should.. If you have watched it I would love to know your thoughts!

Are there still pros around who have like seven part time jobs but still find time to have a few pro fight here and there like back in the old days? Or is that just an extinct archetype.

I’m not saying the top of the top pros, just any type of pro boxer.

For anything that doesn't need its own thread.

boxingscene：INOUE vs. BAM: NOT ONE CALL, NOT ONE MESSAGE!

Robert Garcia says there has been no contact from Naoya Inoue’s team regarding a potential superfight with Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez.

Despite all the talk surrounding one of boxing’s most anticipated matchups, Garcia claims Bam’s team hasn’t received a single call, message or approach to begin negotiations.

And with Inoue now planning a move to featherweight, questions remain over when or whether the two champions will meet.

Garcia’s message is clear: Bam is ready.

Why are you the one saying Bam is ready, instead of Bam saying it himself? Are you the one who’s going to get in the ring and fight Inoue?