Andy Ruiz would be happy to welcome an arrival to heavyweight for David Benavidez.
Ruiz is set to make a long-awaited return to the blue-riband division when he takes on Jarrell Miller on August 3 on the undercard of pound-for-pound star Terence Crawford.
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The Mexican has been out of action since outpointing Luis Ortiz in September 2022, but is plotting his path back to the top of the division.
But in a surprising name-drop, Ruiz Jr has opened the door to a showdown with Benavidez, who recently made his debut at light-heavyweight.
He told FightHype: “I think David can do anything because he’s big, he’s strong.
“He’s super young, he’s super, super young. If he does go to heavyweight, hopefully, he gives me the opportunity to fight too.
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He can [move to heavyweight and be successful]. If he’s walking around, he’s probably like 200 pounds anyway.
"I’m pretty sure he feels strong, but he’s a really talented kid.”
Benavidez has yet to be defeated in his professional career and has spent the vast majority of his campaign at super-middleweight.
'The Monster' dispatched of several contenders at 168lbs, and spent most of his time in the division campaigning for a shot at undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez.
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He is a sizeable athlete at that weight category and carries a huge height advantage over many at 6ft 2ins.
But he recently moved up to light-heavyweight, where he outpointed Oleksandr Gvozdyk, but struggled and could well move back down in weight.
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He could elect to continue his pursuit of Alvarez, but is currently failing to entice the champion into a clash, who is demanding a purse of around $200 million.
Any fight with Ruiz Jr is highly unlikely, but it would make for an intriguing spectacle given the former unified champion is at the smaller end of the heavyweight scale.
But Benavidez has spoken of facing heavyweight opposition in the past, and suggested he would pursue a shot at Oleksandr Usyk, who just picked up the undisputed titles in May.
For now, focus will be to wear away any ring rust for Ruiz Jr and get his name back into the win column.
The heavyweight is booming thanks to the investment of Saudi Arabia, where Ruiz famously rematched and lost his titles to Anthony Joshua in 2019.
And his former trainer Manny Robles believes he needs to put his name back firmly in the mix.
"I think he would fight in this Saudi Arabia world title mix," Robles said. "But where is Andy? That is the question.
"I haven't spoken to him or seen him in years. I have no idea what Andy is up to in all honesty.
"But he should come back and take advantage of this opportunity that has been given to all the heavyweight fighters.
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"The opportunity to fight in Saudi Arabia and get in the mix, all these great heavyweight champions fighting each other.
"A loss should not determine the career of a fighter, I don't think he should be judged by that defeat."
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