Canelo Alvarez says David Benavidez will lose when he faces WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol. He says 175 is Benavidez’s true weight class, but he’s not the same fighter that he was when he was fighting at 168, enjoying a massive size advantage over his opposition.
Weight Bullying: A Dangerous and Unfair Practice
Canelo is basically stating that Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) has been a weight bully all these years, campaigning at 168 instead of his natural weight class of 175. Weight bullies would be eradicated from the sport if the sanctioning bodies and state commissions had rehydration rules that prevented fighters from putting on tremendous amounts of weight overnight after they weighed in.
It’s dangerous for fighters to compete against those fighting outside their natural weight class. Two, it’s unfair, and three, it’s risky for the fighter who does this. Losing 20+ lbs of water weight the week of the fight, some using unscrupulous methods to do it, puts their kidneys and other organs at risk of shutting down.
It would be the same if light heavyweights Bivol and Artur Beterbiev chose to melt down and fight at 168 for the last 10+ years, as Benavidez has done. Bivol and Beterbiev would have been pure terrors at 168, ruling the division with an iron fist and being unstoppable.
It’s good that Benavidez is fighting at 175 now, but as Canelo says, he’s not the same fighter he was at 168, and he won’t beat Bivol or Beterbiev.
Benavidez’s True Test
“If David Benavidez is like we saw in the last fight [against Oleksandr Gvozdyk], yes, Bivol beats him,” said Canelo Alvarez to Boxingscene on whether WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol would defeat David Benavidez at 175.
It’s a given that Benavidez will lose to Bivol and Beterbiev when the time comes for him to fight those guys. That’s why Benavidez should take on David Morrell in a final elimination to prove he deserves a title shot. He doesn’t look ready after his debut at 175 against Gvozdyk last June.
“Look, 175 is his [Benavidez], and he did nothing at 175. He’s not the same,” said Canelo.
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