The boxing fandom has seen the rise of Canelo Alvarez in becoming the undisputed super middleweight champion of the world, and after exhausting the best that 168 had to offer him, the Mexican maestro is now reportedly making a jump to 175 to meet the WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol up next. However, many believe that the one boxer that Canelo needs to fight at 168 is two-time WBC champion David Benavidez, and his father Jose Benavidez Sr himself believes Canelo avoiding the fight because he is not risking a defeat.
Coming off of the wins over Callum Smith, Avni Yıldırım and Billy Joe Saunders, Canelo was the clear favourite to win his bout against Plant, which took place on 6th November at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Soon after the fight, the undefeated 24-year-old Benavidez had claimed himself as the who has earned a bout with Canelo.
Canelo’s trainer Eddy Reynoso, on the other hand, responded to Benavidez by saying that “El Bandera Roja” is yet to achieve the spot of earning the chance to fight the four belt titleholder.
Jose Benavidez Sr believes Canelo is avoiding a fight with David to not risk a defeat
Canelo is reportedly closing in on a 2-fight deal with DAZN, which will see him jump to 175 to take on Bivol this May, followed by a return to 168 to face his former adversary Gennadiy Golovkin, the reigning IBF, IBO middleweight champion for a much awaited trilogy fight in September.
Meanwhile, Benavidez’s father Jose Benavidez Sr believes that if Canelo decides to remain at super middleweight, fighting his son David is a must and not doing so will only prove that the Mexican is scared and is only looking to secure wins.
“Canelo might jump to 175. If he stays at 168, he has to fight David. There’s no [other way]. Everybody wants that fight. I believe the more experience David gets, and the more years that pass by, he’s going to be more dangerous for Canelo,” Benavidez Sr. told Fighthype, “The time for Canelo to fight David is now because otherwise, he’s going to get stronger and bigger,” said Benavidez Sr. “I don’t think there’s a chance he’ll fight David. He doesn’t want to fight David because he knows he’s hungry.”
“He knows he’s a dangerous fight for him right now because right now it’s business. I don’t blame him for that. I think he wants to secure wins and get paid. He will not fight David; he does not want to fight David. David is only 25. He’s [Canelo] going to have to retire. Hopefully, he doesn’t stay at 168 because he;’s going to feel that pressure that he has to fight David. If David has to go to 175, he’s still going to be there,” Benavidez Sr. insisted his son jumping to light heavyweight as well for the fight.
“When you say that he [Benavidez] has nothing to offer, that tells me they’re scared. You don’t want to fight him. They don’t want to risk losing. I feel happy when I hear that because if he didn’t have that much easy money, payday,” added Benavidez Sr. [H/T Boxingnews24.com]
Highlights:
- Jose Benavidez Sr believes Canelo Alvarez is avoiding a fight with his son David Benavidez because he is scared
- The undisputed super middleweight champion is likely to make a jump to 175 and face Dmitry Bivol up next
