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Canelo Alvarez mocked David Benavidez’s achievements after he was asked whether he would face him.
Canelo is currently preparing to face William Scull in May in an undisputed super middleweight clash. A victory over Scull secures him the IBF title, meaning he becomes undisputed for a second time at the weight class. Canelo is also on course to fight Terence Crawford in September on Mexican Independence Weekend. Benavidez was seen as Canelo’s biggest threat during his time as a super middleweight.
Benavidez has previously won a belt at super middleweight on two occasions. He was also the WBC Interim Champion for more than two years, increasing the pressure on Canelo to face him. However, the WBC did not order the mandatory one, while Canelo demanded a staggering $150-200 million to make the fight.
Canelo On Benavidez
Benavidez ultimately got frustrated as he made the move up to light heavyweight. Benavidez secured a victory against David Morrell Jr. in his last fight, as he is now in a mandatory position to fight Dmitry Bivol for undisputed at light heavyweight. David has said that he still wants to face Canelo, while the latter appears more reluctant. He felt that Benavidez had done nothing in his career to warrant a mega fight, while he also said that the Mexican Monster was no longer in his weight class.
“I don’t know how to answer this question, but with the way he talks, he thinks he’s Superman. He’s very disrespectful, not just with me but with everybody, and he’s accomplished nothing. [And] he’s not even a champion. He’s not even in my weight class [168 anymore]. There’s a lot of things there that doesn’t make sense, and plus, at this point in my career, I can do whatever I want. You guys can’t take anything away from my career and my legacy for anything. If you see my resume, I fought everybody out there, all the elite fighters out there. I’m very good with my resume,” Canelo said
Crawford Reacts
That has increased the narrative that Canelo has no interest in facing Benavidez, who has repeatedly accused him of ducking. That will disappoint boxing fans who see Benavidez as a major obstacle to Canelo’s dominance, but it also has the potential to break boxing records due to it being a Mexican domestic clash. Outside of that, Terence Crawford has suggested that his fight with Canelo is much bigger.
“As a boxing fan, it would be a fight to see, but to be real, Canelo vs. Terence Crawford is the biggest fight in boxing today. There’s no bigger fight out there that’s bigger than Canelo-Crawford. 100%,” Crawford said
Crawford is trying to defy the odds by moving up two weight classes from 154 to 168. He has only had one fight at 154 pounds, which was against Israil Madrimov, where he defeated him to secure the WBA belt. Jermell Charlo failed to dethrone Canelo when he jumped up two weight classes from 154 pounds. If Crawford can do it, he will go down as one of the best fighters of all time. However, the Benavidez fight is the one that boxing fans have been demanding.
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