“If Canelo’s not fighting you, forget everybody else and go straight to [Oleksandr] Usyk,” Jones said on All The Smoke Fight. “Don’t play with anybody else. The Usyk fight is one of the biggest fights of this decade. Take it while it’s hot.”

Benavidez, The Ring’s No. 5-ranked pound-for-pounder and WBC light heavyweight champion, added Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez’s WBA and WBO cruiserweight straps to his collection this past weekend.

After scoring a dominant sixth-round stoppage win at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Benavidez called out Dmitry Bivol, The Ring, IBF, WBA, and WBO 175-pound champion. He also dismissed the idea of moving up to heavyweight for now.

Another option for Benavidez is Jai Opetaia, The Ring’s cruiserweight champion. The 30-year-old Australian made it look easy in his last appearance, pitching a near-shutout against Brandon Glanton at Meta Apex in Las Vegas. In the process, Opetaia (30-0, 23 KOs) took home the inaugural Zuffa cruiserweight title but was stripped of his IBF belt.

Benavidez (32-0, 26 KOs) has stated before that he would entertain a fight against Opetaia, but his preference is Bivol.

However, Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, wants to make Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) vs. Benavidez a reality in 2027, provided the Ukrainian beats Rico Verhoeven on May 23 at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.

Jones, who moved up from the light heavyweight division to capture the WBA heavyweight strap against John Ruiz in 2003, has no say in what route Benavidez chooses. That said, Opetaia should be left alone, and the focus should be on three-time undisputed champion Usyk.

“It is not smart for David Benavidez to give Jai Opetaia a shot at his name right now,” Jones continued. “You go up and fight Usyk while you’re hot and it makes sense. You can always come back down and fight Opetaia. If you lose to Usyk, the Opetaia fight is still there. If you lose to Opetaia, the Usyk fight is gone. Why would you go play with a guy who’s just as dangerous as Usyk but not as well-known as Usyk? That’s kind of crazy.”