Monster could do well at cruiser against Jirov but I am not sure we have enough info on Benavidez at this weight class to make an informed decision. Kovalev in his prime would knockout Benavidez but David would get some good shots in before he went down for the count.
These would be great fights. I like him over Kovalev but Kovalev certainly has the power to stop anyone ar 175. I just think Benavidez wears him down and out. Jirov is a little tougher to predict. I simply haven't seen enough of him at CW to pick him over a beast like Jirov. My gut tells me he can beat Jirov but Jirov's never say die attitude and size would push Benavidez like we haven't seen yet. Too me, Benavidez vs Jirov is a fantastic matchup between to great swarmers. What makes them great swarmers is that they are certainly more than just swarmers from a skillset perspective, they simply choose to fight all out.
I imagine Benavidez vs Jirov would be a great fight, lots of fun infighting; I'm tempted to go with Jirov simply because he works so much, but who knows, Benavidez has the better defence and that might play a role as it did against Morrell. Would have to see more of him at CW. I think the Kovalev fight is really interesting. A hard and fast straight puncher would definitely give Benavidez issues, but I'm more concerned about Benavidez's terrific body assault. Kovalev would have to find a way to deal with it fast and if he can, I think he'd win pretty big.
