David Benavidez is closing on a crucial phase of his career where three fights, in particular, could see him become boxing’s next pound-for-pound king.

The 29-year-old became a three-division world champion in May, dethroning Gilberto Ramirez with a sixth-round finish for the WBO and WBA cruiserweight titles.

Since then, Benavidez has flirted with the idea of moving back down to light-heavyweight but now appears set to remain at 200lbs.

He is, after all, the mandatory challenger to Michal Cieslak, who was elevated from ‘interim’ to full WBC champion following Noel Mikealian’s ninth-round stoppage defeat to Jai Opetaia last weekend.

Benavidez is therefore likely to enter a three-belt unification match with Cieslak on December 12, before targeting a more appealing clash with Opetaia for Cinco de Mayo weekend in 2027.

With ‘The Mexican Monster’ having one fight remaining on his Premier Boxing Champions contract, too, he may embrace the opportunity to become a free agent and work with Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing.

Either way, father and trainer Jose Benavidez Sr has expressed his interest in the Opetaia fight, while also telling BOXING n BBQ that he would entertain showdowns with Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev.

Jose Benavidez Sr. reveals the HIT LIST he and David have in mind‼️

🥊 Jai Opetaia NEXT
🥊 Artur Beterbiev
🥊 Dmitry Bivol
🥊MAYBE move up to HEAVYWEIGHT👀 pic.twitter.com/F09Rijy83I

— BOXING n BBQ (@BOXINGnBBQ) September 17, 2026

While still the unified king at 175lbs, Bivol has previously teased a move up to cruiserweight and Beterbiev, especially at this stage in his career, would surely benefit from making the same 25-pound jump.

As for Benavidez’s long-term future, though, it appears that his father is keen for a move up to heavyweight, where the former super-middleweight champion would look to follow in the footsteps of Roy Jones Jr.

Canelo Alvarez has named his three hardest-hitting opponents in a 68-fight career that will guarantee him Hall of Fame status.

The Mexican is now gearing up to face WBC champion Christian Mbilli, bidding to reclaim a quarter of the undisputed super-middleweight crown he lost to Terence Crawford.

This defeat came in September 2025 and followed his other two losses, against Floyd Mayweather and Dmitry Bivol, which many respectively attributed to experience and size disadvantages.

Indeed, Canelo was far from a natural light-heavyweight but Bivol, nevertheless, deserves full credit for implementing an effective gameplan and winning their 2022 encounter by unanimous decision.

Alvarez was also comprehensively outboxed when he faced Mayweather in 2013 but, while campaigning at 154lbs, the four-division world champion rarely seemed overly bothered by the power of his opponents.

Instead, he unsurprisingly experienced more thudding blows from Gennady Golovkin, who was unfortunate not to win their middleweight showdown in 2017.

After boxing to a draw, Canelo then emerged with a less dubious majority decision victory in their rematch the following year, before becoming the undisputed super-middleweight king and dethroning Sergey Kovalev for the WBO 175lb title in 2019.

At the time, Kovalev was a far cry from his formidable prime but, even so, Alvarez has named the ‘Krusher’ as one of his most powerful opponents.

As for the third biggest puncher he has ever faced, Canelo told STORY SPORT that, despite stopping him in three rounds, he also felt the super-welterweight power of James Kirkland when they collided in 2015.

Super-middleweight world champion Mbilli, meanwhile, boasts a similar knockout record to Kirkland as he looks to defeat the 36-year-old Canelo on October 31.

Match Details

Fixture: (2) Paula Badosa vs (PR) Nadia Podoroska

Date: September 19, 2026

Tournament: SP Open

Round: Semifinals

Venue: Parque Villa-Lobos, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Category: WTA 250

Surface: Hard

Prize Money: $283,347

Live Telecast: USA – Tennis Channel | UK – Sky Sports

Paula Badosa vs Nadia Podoroska preview

Second seed Paula Badosa will take on Nadia Podoroska in the semifinals of the SP Open 2026.

Badosa beat Justina Mikulskyte 6-3, 6-2 in the first round, and then staged a comeback to one-up Jazmin Ortenzi 4-6, 6-2, 6-2. She faced Mary Stoiana in the quarterfinals. The Spaniard squandered her break advantage on two occasions in the first set.

However, the third time was indeed the charm for Badosa. She remained in front after breaking Stoiana’s serve for the third time to take the opener. A double break lead put Badosa 5-1 up within a matter of minutes in the second set. While she blew two match points on Stoiana’s serve in the seventh game, she closed out the match herself in the next game for a 6-4, 6-2 win.

Podoroska moved past Lucrezia Stefanini and fifth seed Eva Lys in straight sets to book a quarterfinal date with Suzan Lamens. Podoroska captured a closely-contested first set with a focused performance in the tie-break.

Lamens raised her own level in response and captured the second set. She drew first blood in the third set to go 2-0 up as well. However, that marked the end of the road for her. Podoroska swept six of the next seven games in a remarkable turnaround to tally a 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-3 win.

Paula Badosa vs Nadia Podoroska head-to-head

Badosa leads their rivalry 1-0 at the WTA level. She won their previous meeting at the Tokyo Olympics 2021 in straight sets.

Paula Badosa vs Nadia Podoroska odds

(Odds via BetMGM)

Paula Badosa vs Nadia Podoroska prediction

After a comeback win over Ortenzi, Badosa dispatched Stoiana in routine fashion. She has advanced to her second semifinal at the WTA level this year, and the 19th of her career. She has also reached her first semifinal on hardcourts since the Australian Open 2025.

Podoroska has tallied the best result of her comeback with her semifinal run here. She was sidelined for more than a year due to an injury, and returned to action in March this year. She has reached the semifinals of a WTA tournament for the first time since September 2023.

Both players have a rather dismal record at the semifinal stage. Badosa has gone 5-13 in semifinal matches, while Podoroska has lost all four of her prior semifinals. Given their respective histories at this stage, Badosa will be the favorite to win this match.

Pick: Paula Badosa to win in straight sets.

Paula Badosa vs Nadia Podoroska betting tips

Tip 1: The match will have at least 18 games.

Tip 2: Badosa to win at least one set with a score of 6-2.