It’s not like David Benavidez to pass on a fight, especially at this stage of his career. But then again, he’s not chasing just any fight. During his time at 168 pounds, Benavidez did everything he could to earn a crack at Canelo Alvarez. He racked up wins, delivered knockouts, and waited patiently for his phone to ring. But it never did. Frustrated, he moved up to 175 lbs, quickly notched two wins, and claimed the WBC interim title only to find himself in a familiar spot. With Dmitry Bivol now locked into a trilogy bout with Artur Beterbiev, Benavidez is once again left without the marquee opponent he’s been craving.

However, now, he’s setting his sights on other elite names. “Right now we’re thinking about Callum Smith or Anthony Yarde,” Benavidez revealed recently. “Obviously, those are two top guys in that division.” And yet, rumors are already swirling that Smith and Yarde may be headed toward a clash of their own. Still, the 28-year-old remains very much in the mix. For a fighter who’s long taken on whoever was willing, it’s a bit ironic. There is a chance that the WBC light heavyweight champion may lose potential opponents to each other if he fails to act quickly, at least according to Callum Smith.

When Boxing Social‘s Danny Gilfillan caught up with Smith for a fight update, the former world champion didn’t mince words. “Yeah, I’m going to meet him [Anthony Yarde] this week,” Smith said. “He’s away in Japan the weekend and then I’m going to speak to him when he gets home.” While there’s been buzz about a Smith-Yarde bout supposedly being signed months ago, Smith quickly poured cold water on that notion.

“I think people think the odd fight apparently was signed, sealed, and done because of [what] Tunde [Ajayi] was doing,” he noted, referencing Anthony Yarde’s outspoken trainer. Ajayi previously claimed, “The fight was sealed in February.” Further adding, “All we needed to do was get past Lyndon Arthur, so there’s no more ducking, talking bad about anybody, let’s fight. It’s the only fight that makes sense.” But Smith was quick to clarify, “No talks or movement on that fight at all from my side. I haven’t heard nothing of it.” But what about the David Benavidez fight?

According to Smith, that fight might actually be gaining more traction. “From what I’m hearing the Benavidez one’s probably a little bit further along in terms of talks or negotiations even though that fight’s nowhere near done,” he explained. Smith mentioned that PBC and his promoter Eddie Hearn have been having conversations behind the scenes, but nothing is official. “There’s been no minor talks,” Smith added. “So now, we wait and see.”

Truth be told, a clash between Callum Smith and David Benavidez was supposed to happen as far back as 2019. At the time, both fighters held world titles in the super middleweight division, setting the stage for what could have been a high-stakes unification bout. But boxing politics got in the way. Benavidez was locked into a mandatory defense of his WBC title against Avni Yildirim, while Smith, the Liverpool native, ended up landing a massive opportunity against Canelo Alvarez. Unfortunately for Smith, that opportunity didn’t go his way.

After suffering a loss to Alvarez, any hopes of a Smith-Benavidez unification went up in smoke. The defeat also marked a turning point in Smith’s career. He soon decided it was time to move up to the light heavyweight division in pursuit of new challenges (and a second world title). Naturally, that shift seemed to close the door on a future matchup with the 30-0 boxer. But now, years later, with both fighters once again circling each other, the prospect of finally seeing them share a ring is more real than ever. And a bit of extra waiting this time around doesn’t feel so bad.

“But I’m in a good position regardless of who I fight next,” Smith told Boxing Social. “The goal remains the same. I want to be a 2 weight world champion.” And if the fight does come together, David Benavidez reportedly already has a preferred location in mind.

David Benavidez isn’t fighting in that particular location

The 28-year-old David Benavidez recently opened up on the Pound 4 Pound podcast with hosts Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo about turning down a rather unusual offer. HE Turki Alalshikh had proposed a fight at none other than Alcatraz, the infamous former federal prison island. When Usman asked about meeting HE Alalshikh last February and the prospect of a future bout with the winner of Beterbiev-Bivol, Benavidez didn’t hold back. “The thing about Turki is that he kept telling me that he wanted me to fight in June in Alcatraz. And I’m like, really? In Alcatraz? The jail? Like, I’m not really trying to do that,” Benavidez said.

Back in February, during the press for the Fatal Fury in Times Square event in New York, HE Alalshikh announced his vision to host a boxing event on Alcatraz Island. Naturally, the idea of hosting a fight at such an unusual, crowd-unfriendly location caught the attention of fans and insiders alike. Similar to the Times Square event, which was limited to just a few hundred VIP guests, the Alcatraz event was expected to be equally exclusive, something that didn’t sit well with David Benavidez.

The Monster Bandera Roja explained his stance plainly, emphasizing the importance of fighting where the fans can truly be part of the experience. “What takes away from the sport is if you’re having fights at a certain place—Alcatraz/Times Square… For me, as a fighter, bro, I don’t want to fight no Alcatraz,” he said. Instead, he pointed to venues like the T-Mobile Arena. Why? Because, “I like feeling the energy from the crowd…When you feel the energy, you fu–ing hit somebody with a big shot—ah! Everybody goes crazy.” So, if the Callum Smith fight does happen, it would be on a PBC card as well as on US soil.

So, with David Benavidez’s clear preference for a traditional fight atmosphere and the ongoing chatter about his next opponent, what do you think? Will the long-awaited showdown with Callum Smith finally materialize? Or will Smith end up facing Anthony Yarde instead, given the swirling rumors and negotiations?