Almost a year after David Benavidez’s fight against Jose Uzcategui was scrapped due to Uzcategui testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug, Benavidez has again agreed to face the Venezuelan veteran.

krikya360.com has confirmed that representatives for Benavidez and Uzcategui have nearly finalized a deal for them to fight early in 2023, probably on a date to be determined in January. Showtime is expected to televise the 12-round bout between Benavidez (26-0, 23 KOs) and Uzcategui (32-4, 27 KOs), which could be contested for Benavidez’s WBC interim super middleweight title.

ESPN.com’s Mike Coppinger first reported Monday that handlers for Benavidez and Uzcategui are in the process of completing negotiations for their fight.

Phoenix’s Benavidez, 25, and Tijuana’s Uzcategui, 31, were scheduled to box last November 13 at Footprint Center, the home arena of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. Uzcategui was removed from their bout late last October because he tested positive for recombinant erythropoietin (EPO), which is on the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association’s list of banned substances.

Kyrone Davis, who is more suited to fight at middleweight, replaced Uzcategui on short notice. Benavidez stopped Davis (16-3-1, 6 KOs), of Wilmington, Delaware, in the seventh round of what was a one-sided fight.

Members of Benavidez’s team apparently were wary of agreeing to fight Uzcategui again, but they eventually decided to move forward with their bout.

“I think they have to give [Uzcategui] a severe punishment, because he didn’t just get caught with anything,” Benavidez told krikya360.com before he fought Davis. “He got caught with EPOs, you know, the [strongest] steroid there is for recovery and stamina. So, I mean, for him to go that far and do that, it just means that he was really scared. He knew what would happen in the fight.

“I feel like that wouldn’t have helped him anyway. I feel like I’m in tremendous shape and I’m a superior fighter. I have superior power, and I feel like it wouldn’t have really stopped me from knocking him out.”

Uzcategui is not listed among the WBC’s top 40 contenders in the super middleweight division, but it was not clear when this story was posted if Benavidez’s interim championship will be at stake in their fight.

Uzcategui has won three straight fights against nondescript opposition since American veteran Lionel Thompson (22-5, 12 KOs) upset him by unanimous decision in their 10-rounder in December 2019 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. The former IBF 168-pound champion is not, however, the type of high-profile opponent Benavidez has sought since he stopped onetime IBF middleweight champ David Lemieux (43-5, 36 KOs) in the third round of their May 21 bout at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for krikya360.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.