Benavidez Has Cieslak in Front of Him and Opetaia on His Mind After LA Press Conference

David Benavidez sat at a podium in Hollywood with a Polish champion on Zoom and an Australian on his mind.

At Wednesday's Los Angeles press conference at Avalon Hollywood, Benavidez, the unbeaten WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion, promoted his Dec. 5 unification with WBC champion Michal Cieslak at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Ariz. Cieslak appeared virtually. The card is a PBC pay-per-view on DAZN through Prime Video, starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

Benavidez didn't hide where he's looking. "This was the only piece standing in my way to make the fight with Jai Opetaia bigger," he said, per Boxing News.

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The co-main is Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Keith Thurman, 12 rounds at middleweight. Emiliano Vargas faces Omar Juarez over 10 at super lightweight, Marco Romero returns in an eight-rounder at middleweight, and Nikita Tszyu makes his U.S. debut in an eight-round super welterweight opener.

Vargas, per PBC, believes he can be the first to stop Juarez: "You've never seen a boring Vargas fight."

The Kimster's read

Talking Opetaia before you've beaten Cieslak is how champions trip on the bottom step. Cieslak is a titleholder, not a speed bump. But if Benavidez leaves Glendale with three belts, the Opetaia fight becomes the biggest at cruiserweight, and he knows it.

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