By Jeff Aranow: #2 WBC Anthony Dirrell suffered an injury training for his scheduled title fight against David Benavidez (18-0, 17 KOs) for the vacant WBC super middleweight title on September 9 in Los Angeles, California. The World Boxing Council is planning on replacing the 32-year-old Dirrell (30-1-1, 24 KOs) with No.8 WBC Ronald Gavril (18-1, 14 KOs).
Gavril, 31, is the next available contender in the WBC’s 168lb rankings. Some of the other top contenders in the WBC’s rankings, Callum Smith, Avri Yildirim and Chris Eubank Jr. are taking part in the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS), and none of them are available to step in and replace Dirrell.
Benavidez, 20, is in an advantageous position to capture the vacant WBA World super middleweight title. He would have had an excellent chance of defeating Dirrell for the WBC title if he hadn’t suffered an injury that knocked him out of the fight. But with Gavril now as his opponent, it gives Benavidez an excellent chance of winning the title and holding it down for a while.
Benavidez’s real test will come when Callum Smith, and Eubank Jr. get done with the WBSS. They’re going to be looking to fight Benavidez and take his belt. It’ll be interesting to see if Benavidez has the fire power and talent to get past the likes of Smith or Eubank Jr.
At 20, Benavidez is very young to be fighting for a world title. However, he’s got massive punching power with either hand that gives him a chance against anyone he faces. Smith is a big puncher too, so it would be a good fight between him and Benavidez. Eubank Jr. is more of a combination that likes to throw a lot of shots, He’ll be a big test as well for Benavidez in the future if he chooses to go after the WBC title.
Gavril holds the NABF super middleweight title. He’s been fighting as a pro since 2011, but he’s faced largely weak opposition during that time frame. Gavril has a loss to journeyman Elvin Ayala 2 years ago in losing an 8 round unanimous decision. Gavril has won his last 7 fights since then against weak opposition. It’s obviously not a good sign that Gavril lost to Ayala. It suggests that he might not be deserving up a top 10 ranking by the WBC. The sanctioning body sees something in Gavril that makes them believe that he’s worthy of a top 10 rating. Gavril was born in Romania and had a good amateur record of 165-15. Gavril’s promoter is Floyd Mayweather Jr. Whether that is a factor in Gavril’s rankings is a good question. He’s not beaten anyone that would make you think he’s deserving to be rated where he is.