David Benavidez has been talking more about Canelo Alvarez than he has about him in the lead-up to his fight this Saturday night against Oleksandr Gvozdyk.
It’s not the ideal way for Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs) to build interest for this important clash, which is the toughest of the 27-year-old Mexican Monster’s career.
Canelo as a Promotional Tool
Some fans feel Benavidez is using Canelo’s name to promote his fight with Gvozdyk (20-1, 16 KOs) in a sneaky way of creating interest in this clash rather than promoting it on its own merits.
Is this an intentional strategy by Benavidez to speak mainly about Canelo or is he obsessed with him like a person that has hero worship?
Benavidez has talked about Canelo incessantly for years, and it’s troubling becaue it suggests that he lacks the self-belief to create his path without the constant mention of the superstar’s name.
If you’re Canelo, this has got to be off-putting to have Benavidez seemingly so obsessed with him, and it’s not surprising that he wants nothing to do with him. It’s got to be an icky feeling for Canelo to see someone so into him and not shut up about him night and day.
Benavidez Feels Entitled to a Title Shot
“I’m going up to 175 and making my own name,” said David Benavidez to the Million Dollaz Worth of Game YouTube channel, talking about how he’s forced to go up to light heavyweight because he couldn’t get a title shot at 168.
“I’ve been at the #1 spot for the past three years, and I should have been fought for the belts. The guy that has the belts [Canelo Alvarez] has all four of them. So, I should have been the unified champion three years ago,” said Benavidez.
The former two-time WBC super middleweight champion Benavidez’s comments suggest he feels a lot of resentment towards Canelo for not getting his shot, which he feels he’s entitled to. But even if Canelo were belt-less, it’s likely Benavidez would be whining just the same, complaining about him not wanting to fight him, sounding disgruntled because he won’t give him what he wants.
Benavidez Feels He’s Done Everything Right
“What if you had did your job extremely well and you’re right there? They’re promising you a promotion, but you can never get a promotion because somebody else doesn’t want to give it to you,” said Benavidez.
“I did everything to get to the belts. I’m #1 contender still [at super middleweight], and because of money and a guy doesn’t want to fight me, that’s the only reason I’m not getting the opportunity for the titles,” said Benavidez.
It just seems like Benavidez’s whining about Canelo is an attempt to get pity, playing the victim, and it makes him look pathetic in the eyes of fans. If Benavidez is serious about wanting to fight Canelo, talking about him so much isn’t helping.
“It’s not anything I didn’t do on my end. I did everything good on my end,” said Benavidez. “It’s just the other person that has the belts doesn’t want to fight me. They [WBC] made me the mandatory, but I don’t know why they’re not pressing the issue like they should.”
Boxing is a business, and if the sanctioning bodies don’t want to try and force Canelo or any champion to fight another fighter, that’s how it is. Benavidez has got to live with it. But it would help if he accepted that Canelo isn’t interested in fighting him and moved on already instead of moping about it.
For Canelo, that has got to be so off-putting because it’s alien behavior to his internal structure of being. He clearly doesn’t understand Benavidez’s obsession because that’s not how he operates.
“Canelo is the cash cow. These sanctioning fees, the WBC, IBF, WBA, and WBO, they all get a percentage. So because Canelo is making so much money, he’s giving each of these 3%. So, 3% of how much he makes from $40 million,” said Benavidez.
“They’re probably walking away with $2 million each. So because of that, they’re letting him do whatever he wants to do, which is not alright for me. I feel if the people want it and I’m the #1 spot, they should make that fight mandatory, but for some reason, they’re not.”
Benavidez doesn’t understand that the sanctioning bodies are helpless in forcing Canelo to fight him, and they’re not about to try to do that. You can’t blame them for not wanting to risk it,
Benavidez Accuses Canelo of Picking Easy Fights
“He’s picking the easiest fights and then he’s saving me until last. He knows damn well I’m the strongest, fastest and I’m the best in this weight class. I’m still the best in the 168lbs. division, and I will be the 1 to dethrone Canelo,” said Benavidez.
If Benavidez is the best at super middleweight, why didn’t he fight David Morrell Jr. when he called him out and offered him a title shot at his WBA ‘regular’ 168-lb belt? Why is Benavidez fighting at 175?
He can’t call himself the best if he’s now fighting at light heavyweight and is not interested in proving himself as the best at 168 by fighting Morrell.
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