The WBC has laid out a plan to resolve its super middleweight title situation involving titleholder Anthony Dirrell, David Benavidez and Avni Yildirim.
WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman announced that Dirrell will defend his title against Benavidez with Yildirim taking on the winner. The news was announced at a press conference in Turkey.
The news comes after Yildirim requested the WBC to give him an immediate rematch after losing to Dirrell back in February with the then-vacant title on the line. The fight ended with Dirrell winning the title after the fight went to a technical decision due to a cut above Dirrell's left eye. After the fight, a visibly upset Yildirim said he wanted another shot at the title.
The title was vacant at the time as a result of Benavidez failing a drug test and having his title stripped by the WBC last year. Benavidez was handed a suspension, which he served, and was moved to "Champion in Recess" status. Benavidez recently returned to action on March 16, fighting on the undercard of Errol Spence Jr. vs. Mikey Garcia from AT&T Stadium and taking out J'Leon Love in the second round.
Prior to the fight, Benavidez had told Fightful in a conference call that the plan was to fight Dirrell next for the WBC title after beating Love. Now Benavidez appears to be heading towards that title fight. According to ESPN, a fight between Dirrell and Benavidez has been agreed to and is likely taking place either in August or in September. Yildirim would likely fight on the undercard in a tune-up fight as he awaits his title opportunity.
