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It seems that David Benavidez has become the most uncomfortable fighter in the world of boxing today.
While the "Mexican Monster" is looking for a fight against Canelo Alvarez, or against Russian Dmitry Bivol, no one wants to face him or have him in the opposite corner.
After months and months of Alvarez avoiding Benavidez, it now appears that the Russian is following in the Mexican's footsteps and is dodging a fight against the 28-year-old.
Bivol, the new undisputed light heavyweight champion, seems to want something more lucrative for his next fight, but above all, to have an easier opponent after defeating Artur Beterbiev.
The Arab sheikh, Turki Alalshikh, left open the possibility of seeing the clash between Bivol and Benavidez, despite the fact that the Arizona native was in Riyadh to watch the fight between Bivol and Beterbiev.
Benavidez is the mandatory challenger, but...
On February 1, Benavidez defeated David Morrell and secured the mandatory challenge to face the winner of the Beterbiev-Bivol rematch.
The WBC wants Bivol to defend his title against Benavidez, but the Russian simply avoided talking about the potential fight.
Bivol said: "I'm waiting for the next step with my best team."
While Alalshikh noted that: "I'm not interested in Bivol-Benavidez anymore and I won't be bidding for it. I think Bivol knows who has lived up to his expectations and who hasn't. My advice to Bivol: don't be late because every day something changes".
And while the Russian said that "I'm ready for any challenge in the future,"that future does not include Benavidez, who is an awkward fighter and would clearly put Bivol's world championship belts at risk.
"Just don't dodge Benavidez like Canelo did," one social media said.
It may be too early to draw conclusions from a simple tweet, but a Bivol-Beterbiev trilogy sounds interesting, and many would love to see who would take the ultimate advantage.
The WBC has now ordered Bivol and Benavidez to come to a decision within 30 days. Otherwise, the fight could potentially go to purse bids. Therefore, the fight with Benavidez looks set for further delay, the site explained
For the "Mexican Monster", it is a similar situation to the one he faced at 168 pounds, as although he was the mandatory challenger for Canelo's crown not once but twice, he had to watch from a distance, until he decided to move up in division in 2024, so now history could repeat itself.