Canelo Alvarez’s decision to defend his undisputed super middleweight championship against Edgar Berlanga on September 14th has to signal for David Benavidez to give up his pursuit of the Mexican star.
It’s a bitter pill for Benavidez to accept that he’s been wasting his time hounding Canelo, but he needs to understand that there are no opportunities for him. He’s not in Canelo’s plans.
Mexican star Canelo is on his retirement tour and will be taking sure-thing fights that don’t involve opponents he could lose to, such as Benavidez, David Morrell Jr., Dmitry Bivol, or Artur Beterbiev.
Benavidez’s Difficult Decision
David Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) had recently been given an extension by the WBC to decide which of the two mandatory positions he wished to hold onto between 168 and 175. It’s obvious that Benavidez needs to give up on keeping his WBC mandatory at 168 and make 175 his permanent home.
‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez is mandatory for WBC light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev’s title, and he’ll be getting a guaranteed title shot against whoever holds that belt after the October 12th undisputed championship between Artur and WBA champion Dmitry Bivol.
The money Benavidez can earn from fighting the winner of that fight in Saudi Arabia in 2025 should be enough to keep him happy, given that appears to be his main reason for wanting the Canelo fight.
Benavidez’s chances of beating the much smaller and older Canelo are much greater than it would be for him to defeat the Beterbiev vs. Bivol winner. But if Benavidez can’t get the Canelo fight, what other choices does he have?
He’s killing himself as it is draining down to fight at 168 as it is, and he’s not going to be able to continue to do that forever without ending up in the hospital emergency room due to dehydration issues.
The last thing Benavidez needs is to be hospitalized or beaten up by one of the super middleweights because he’s drained due to him melting down from the 190s to 168, trying to get an advantage.
The Reality of the Canelo Fight
If Benavidez thinks Canelo will entertain a fight against him in early 2025 after his defense against Berlanga, he’s kidding himself. Canelo will likely face Terence Crawford in the first quarter of next year, provided His Excellency Turki Alalshikh subsidies that fight, which he’s expected to do.
Benavidez needs to wake up and recognize that Canelo isn’t going to give him the fight that he’s been waiting around for in the last six years.
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