Beterbiev's Coach on Gvozdyk vs. Benavides: "This is Madness"

John Scully, the coach of the WBO, WBC, and IBF light heavyweight (up to 79,37 kg) champion Artur Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs), criticized the decision to name the winner of the fight between Oleksandr Gvozdyk (20-1, 16 KOs) and David Benavides (28-0, 24 KOs) as the "interim" world champion.

"Designating one of these guys as the 'interim' champion is madness. This is an aspect of boxing that I absolutely hate. I think many don’t even realize that an interim champion is completely unnecessary. The real champion is active and ready to go at any time. There’s no need for this.

I refuse to acknowledge them at all. They will absolutely not go down in history as light heavyweight world champions unless they face Artur and beat him. I can't believe someone in the boxing community allowed this to happen.

I hope that the winner will have the honor and sense to recognize the reality, to tell people he won't feel like a champion until he beats the real champion. Otherwise, someone will be walking around with one of these belts, pretending to be the sole champion — it's a tragedy and a slap in the face to our sport," Scully said.

Recently, WBC President Nikolai Kovalchuk announced the fight between David Benavides and Oleksandr Gvozdyk for the WBC "interim" light heavyweight title. Later, Benavides confirmed this information and announced that the fight would take place in June 2024.