David Benavidez linked with Tyson Fury fight if Anthony Joshua bout falls through

David Benavidez could be offered a December fight with Tyson Fury if problems derail Fury's bout with Anthony Joshua, The Ring's Mike Coppinger has suggested.

David Benavidez could be handed a heavyweight fight with Tyson Fury in December if Fury's meeting with Anthony Joshua collapses, The Ring's Mike Coppinger has suggested, as reported by Boxing News.

Coppinger indicated that behind-the-scenes issues could stop the Fury-Joshua fight going ahead, even though the all-British contest was announced earlier this week for Cardiff's Principality Stadium on 11 December. An announcement does not guarantee that the Netflix and Ring event will take place.

The issue is Dana White's role. Sources told Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix that Turki Alalshikh wants White as a promoter, while Joshua's contract rules him out, and Eddie Hearn says White and TKO "have been written to": Fury vs Joshua in doubt. Our timeline of the White and Hearn row has every turn so far.

Benavidez, 29, is expected to face newly crowned WBC champion Michal Cieslak in a unification fight on 12 December. According to Coppinger, the only thing likely to pull him out of that bout is a call saying Fury is available to fight him the night before.

Benavidez became a three-division world champion in May, winning the WBO and WBA titles on his cruiserweight debut by beating Gilberto Ramirez with a sixth-round finish. He has been linked with heavyweight before, including a possible fight with Oleksandr Usyk, but has mostly talked about the division as an eventual step while he builds his legacy at 200lbs.

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