Meanwhile, heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk is zeroing in on Deontay Wilder as his ideal dance partner for his farewell fight, which preferably would take place in the United States.

All-time greats Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. are urging Usyk (25-0, 16 KOs) and Benavidez (32-0, 26 KOs) to face each other instead.

Jones originally suggested the idea after Benavidez moved up from light heavyweight to cruiserweight to beat Gilberto Ramirez for the WBA and WBO titles in May, three weeks before Usyk survived a serious scare against kickboxer Rico Verhoeven.

Now, he’s doubling down on the idea.

“I already knew what I saw, I knew what would happen, and I knew what would be best for David Benavidez,” Jones told The Ring. “Now, after Usyk’s performance against Verhoeven, everybody is saying Benavidez should have fought Usyk. He should have fought him anyway. Usyk is a tough fight, and it would be historic for David. Bivol is just as tough, if not tougher, for Benavidez.”

Tyson, who bestowed “The Mexican Monster” nickname on Benavidez and accompanied him to the ring for the Ramirez fight, is also encouraging Benavidez to challenge the Ukrainian.

“Benavidez-Usyk would be beautiful,” Tyson told The Ring. “Benavidez should move to heavyweight. Usyk is not a big heavyweight. He’s a cruiserweight who’s fast and smooth. Usyk has fast hands, just like Benavidez. I think Benavidez throws more punches and combinations than Usyk. I love Benavidez. I will never go against him. ... Usyk is a badass, no doubt about it.”

As for Jones, “Captain Hook” knows all too well about moving up and down the higher weight divisions. Jones was the undisputed king at 175 and a pound-for-pound top player in the sport when he skipped the cruiserweight division altogether to beat John Ruiz for a heavyweight title in 2003. Jones bulked up to 193 pounds for the occasion before moving back down to light heavyweight to resume his career to mixed results.

Jones said Benavidez shouldn’t have similar issues because he won’t have to add and lose as much muscle as he did.

“If I were Benavidez, I would fight Usyk, and come back and campaign and dominate as a cruiserweight,” Jones said. “You don’t want to take all of that weight back off. David is used to carrying the weight.”

Jones then went on to assess Usyk’s performance against Verhoeven, and what that means for Benavidez.

“When you fight someone you’re not supposed to, sometimes your mentality isn’t the same," Jones said. “That was a perfect example between Usyk and Verhoeven. Usyk wasn’t expecting that out of Verhoeven. Usyk does not appear as hungry as he once was, and as focused as he once was, as we saw in his last fight.

“I really think Benavidez gives Usyk an even harder fight than Agit Kabayel, and that’s just me being honest with you. I know Kabayel, but I haven’t seen enough of Kabayel yet to know if he can take it and give it like that to Usyk. I know David can give it and take it.”

Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan.