Jose Benavidez Sr. has slammed Canelo Alvarez for not fighting his son, David Benavidez.
The Mexican Monster has been the WBC mandatory for over a year, a position he held following his stoppage win over Demetrius Andrade. Since Canelo defended his undisputed title against Jermell Charlo with a win, there was an expectation for the two to face each other next. Cinco De Mayo Weekend and Mexican Independence Day are realistic options for the fight.
Although that may be the case, Canelo has been linked with other fighters, ruling out a potential Benavidez fight. Jermall Charlo had been linked with facing Canelo before Jermell, only for those talks to break down. Jermall could not make the deadline as he faced Jose Benavidez Jr. instead. But given that Jermall is not a 168-pounder since he fights at middleweight, that makes the fight less competitive, just as Canelo had shown against Jermell, who moved up from 154 pounds.
Another option for Canelo is Jaime Munguia. He is a fellow Mexican who is also unbeaten. Munguia has two fights at 168 pounds under his belt as he prepares to take on John Ryder on January 27, 2024. Although Munguia is undefeated, Benavidez is still the standout name that fans want to see. Now Benavidez Sr. has had this to say.
Benavidez Sr. On Canelo
“I don’t think it’ll happen. Canelo doesn’t want anything to do with David [Benavidez]. He comes with the excuses all the time. He wants to fight Munguia. [And] he wants to fight [Jermall] Charlo. He says David has fought nobody. Those are just excuses because he doesn’t want to fight him. He and his team will do anything to stay away from David.
“Now, you’ve seen. He said he’s the King, and he’ll do whatever he wants. He’ll do whatever he wants to with the commission. I’m just praying that the commission will be fair to everybody. David is the mandatory [with the WBC]. They’re supposed to strip him in March if he doesn’t get the fight with David. There’s nothing I can do,” Benavidez Sr. said
Benavidez’s team are ready to move on if the Canelo fight does not happen. Christian Mbilli has been mentioned as an opponent following his knockout win over Rohan Murdock. The win took the Frenchman’s record to 26-0, with 22 KOs, as he called out Canelo Alvarez. But since that is unlikely, a fight with Benavidez makes sense.
Mbilli is seen as the future star in the 168-pound division. But so far, he does not have a marquee name on his resume, meaning a bout with Benavidez would change that. Jermall Charlo has also been mentioned outside of that, but the American will likely want Canelo.
Benavidez’s Other Options
“I would love to fight Jermall Charlo, but come on, David would stop him. With the performance I seen with my other son, Jose Benavidez Jr., he would destroy him. I don’t think it would be a fair fight for an exciting fight. “We want to give fans good fights, hard fights, and I don’t think fans would be happy with that either. The other one is Morrell, and the guy [Christian Mbilli]. He looked spectacular. He’s ranked #2. The guy is a monster. “He’s an animal, too. He has 25 fights and is undefeated. He looked great. That’s another guy that we would love to fight. That’s a dangerous fighter right there,” Benavidez Sr. stated
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