Benavidez vs Opetaia: Ex-Foe Backs 'El Monstro' to Win at 200lbs

David Benavidez is building toward the biggest fight cruiserweight can offer, but he's got business to handle first. On December 12 in Arizona, the 32-0 WBA and WBO champion (26 KO) defends against newly-crowned WBC titlist Michal Cieslak in a three-belt unification. Win that, and the mandatory is already written in stone: Jai Opetaia, the 30-0 lineal champ, pencilled in for a Cinco de Mayo showdown.

Ahead of all that, one of Benavidez's former victims has picked a side. Kyrone Davis, who Benavidez stopped inside seven rounds back in 2021 at super-middleweight, told FightHype he backs 'El Monstro' to beat Opetaia outright. His reasoning is simple: the size. Davis said Benavidez looks like he's getting bigger with every camp, almost as if he's prepping to move all the way up to heavyweight.

The Size Question

That angle isn't nothing. Benavidez has spent most of his career at 168, dipped into light-heavyweight for two bouts, and has hit the 200lb limit exactly once — stopping Gilberto Ramírez in six to grab two of the four major belts. Davis claims that when the two champions faced off in the ring, Benavidez physically dwarfed Opetaia, making the Australian look small. For a guy who's shared the ring with Benavidez, that's a read worth logging.

Opetaia, for his part, has lived at cruiserweight his entire career. He's 30-0 with 23 knockouts and most recently outpointed Brandon Glanton over twelve rounds. He isn't the biggest puncher-for-puncher, but he's a natural at the weight, which cuts against Davis's whole thesis. Benavidez carrying his power up two divisions is one thing; carrying it against someone who's never known anything but 200 is another.

What's Actually on the Line

The Opetaia fight could end up being for the undisputed crown, depending on how the Aussie's ongoing lawsuit against the IBF shakes out. That's the kind of detail that turns a good fight into a historic one. Benavidez-Cieslak is expected to be formally announced in the coming weeks, with chatter that Denzel Bentley — the 22-3-1 WBO middleweight champ (18 KO) — could defend against Yoenli Hernandez on the undercard if he takes the mandated fight.

Expect Opetaia ringside in Arizona, ready for the obligatory face-off the moment Benavidez's hand is raised. Assuming it is. Davis is confident, but prediction and reality have a habit of parting ways in boxing. For now, the two best cruiserweights on the planet are both undefeated, both ducking nobody, and pointed straight at each other. That's rarer than it should be.