Benavidez explained that the timing of his contract negotiations has influenced his decision-making.

“Right now, I have to be very smart with my fights, because this is the last fight on my contract with PBC. I’m negotiating a new contract. I don’t want to take the hardest fight in the last fight of my deal,” Benavidez said to Luis Parra.

“What I am going to do is fight another champion at cruiserweight, and after I win that fight, I’ll have one world title at light-heavyweight and three titles at cruiserweight. That gives me more leverage to negotiate a bigger contract.”

The comments strongly suggest Benavidez intends to target Mikaelian, who holds the WBC cruiserweight title and was recently linked to a potential bout with Jai Opetaia. Benavidez became the WBC mandatory challenger at cruiserweight after defeating Ramirez, placing him in line for a three-belt unification.

Benavidez also remains WBC light heavyweight champion, leaving the door open for an eventual undisputed showdown with Dmitry Bivol. However, his latest comments indicate that maximizing his negotiating position before signing a new promotional deal is the immediate priority.