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David Benavidez targeted for ‘absolute fire fight’ by former world champion

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Having previously been the super-middleweight bogeyman, David Benavidez has found himself a wanted man since announcing himself at cruiserweight.

After holding belts at 168 and 175lbs, Benavidez made an ambitious leap up to the cruiserweight division last month, where he delivered one of the performances of the year and dispatched of unified WBA and WBO world champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez inside six rounds.

It now appears that Benavidez will remain at cruiserweight rather than return to the light-heavyweight scene, at least for his next fight.

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Despite calls for him to face Jai Opetaia, the 29-year-old looks set to first prioritise a charge towards the undisputed throne, with a clash against WBC world champion Noel Mikaelian close to being finalised. Should he win there, there are more fights in the division, including Opetaia, worth a mention.

After witnessing Benavidez’s cruiserweight debut, former WBO world champion Chris Billam-Smith – who lost his belt to Ramirez in 2024 – has thrown his name into the mix, telling Inside The Ring that a scrap with ‘The Mexican Monster’ could prove to be a ‘fire fight’.

“Of course, you are always thinking how you go about beating those sorts of guys. I said before that [Zurdo] fight, I said, ‘if he does win, me against him is an absolute fire fight and a very fan-friendly fight’.

“He is a fantastic fighter, obviously he has come up through the weights and put on a great performance there.”

With Benavidez-Mikaelian appearing to be next, Opetaia is likely to seek an in-house defence of his Zuffa Boxing cruiserweight title – with Billam-Smith being the standout candidate for the away corner.

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With that route in mind, ‘The Gentleman’ said that he sees a showdown with Benavidez as a more difficult test than a dust-up with his promotional stablemate.

“Benavidez would be harder to beat [than Opetaia], stylistically for me.”

Benavidez-Mikaelian is reportedly being planned for November, whilst Viddal Riley is anticipated to headline a Misfits Pro card in August, before challenging for the remaining vacant IBF cruiserweight title in the fight that follows.

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KO artist who fought Canelo sets his sights on Chris Eubank Jr

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Chris Eubank Jr has not fought since his underwhelming rematch with Conor Benn, but the 36-year-old is now being targeted by a fierce knockout artist, who is willing to travel to London for the opportunity to face him.

Eubank scored an iconic win over Benn last April but when they rematched seven months later, he felt the full effects of a brutal weight cut, narrowly avoiding a stoppage defeat as he survived until the final bell on unsteady legs only to lose a wide unanimous decision.

Since then, the Hove-born contender has been advised to move up in weight and return to the super-middleweight scene, but he has also been linked to a catchweight clash with Michael Zerafa in Australia – a bout which would take place at 164lbs.

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New York’s Edgar Berlanga has now thrown his hat into the ring though, after revealing on ‘The Last Stand’ podcast about his intentions to face Eubank before the end of the year.

“I would love to step into the ring to end the year with Chris Eubank Jr. I feel like that fight is going to be a big fight in London.

“I told Keith [Connolly], I said that I would rather not do it out here in America. I would rather go to London, where he is from [U.K.], you know what I am saying? We can make a big, big fight happen. He is on the radar.”

Berlanga’s most high profile fight came back in 2024 when he challenged Canelo Alvarez for his unified super-middleweight crown, suffering a unanimous decision defeat, one of two losses in his career after also coming up short against Hamzah Sheeraz.

He has since signed with Zuffa Boxing and in his debut with the company on Sunday he knocked Steven Butler out after seven rounds, recovering from a second-round knockdown to earn the 19th stoppage victory of his career.

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In an interview with The Ring, Berlanga has now doubled down on his call-out of Eubank, hoping he can convince the Briton to swerve the Zerafa fight in favour of a clash on home soil.

“I’m looking forward to getting a real big fight with Chris Eubank. Let’s do it in London. It’s going to be big.”

Eubank maintains that he is currently a free agent, but it is unclear whether he is still contracted to Boxxer, with promoter Ben Shalom appearing to believe that their deal has not expired.

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Danhausen Names His Price For Major “Uncurse”

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Danhausen has named his price for yet another major uncursing. He has shockingly asked for ten million dollars and that is something that he has never done before.

The Very Nice Very Evil star has been on the lips of all sports fans ever since he helped the New York Knicks win the NBA title in June. The Knicks had not won the NBA championship in 53 years and only did so after he lifted their curse.

He has since become a household name and has also appeared on a lot of sports channels where they spoke about his powers. Danhausen will be taking on Dominik Mysterio at SummerSlam which will be held in Minnesota.

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He was posing for pictures with the fans when a fan asked him what would it take for him to uncurse the Minnesota Vikings, who have never won the NFL Championship. He jokingly said that it would take ten million dollars for him to uncurse the Vikings.

Danhausen makes bizarre request to the New York Knicks

The name Danhausen has been etched in the history of the New York Knicks. Ever since they won the NBA title, thanks to their curse being lifted, he has been praised by many of the Knicks players themselves.

After they won the title, the former AEW star made a bizarre request to the New York Knicks. He asked for a one day contract with the franchise so he can play and retire as a world champion. Taking to X, formerly Twitter, after the historic championship win, the former AEW star wrote:

“Danhausen is requesting a one day contract with The KNICKSHAUSEN so he may retire from basketball’s as a champion of the world”

It is the off season right now and there is not a lot of movement. However, given the kind of coverage and sensation the team has received from the WWE star, it should come as no surprise if they decide to adhere to the request and give him a one day contract.

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