Canelo Alvarez not scared, not ducking David Benavidez, says Trevor McCumby

Count Trevor McCumby among the vocal few who believe undisputed super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is not ducking David Benavidez.

Arizona’s McCumby (28-0, 21 KOs), a rising undefeated super middleweight, says Alvarez isn’t ducking any 168-pounder. The viewpoint contrasts what many fight fans and fighters, including Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather, Andre Ward, Daniel Jacobs and Paulie Malignaggi have said about a potential Canelo-Benavidez fight—all of whom have declared Canelo is avoiding the unbeaten two-time super middleweight champion who has been calling out the Mexican great for years.

“I don’t know. I don’t think Canelo is scared of anybody,” McCumby said in an interview with Boxingscene. “Canelo has been in the ring with a lot of guys. I heard a lot of people saying he was scared of ‘GGG’ (Gennadiy Golovkin), but he fought him three times. I don’t think he is ducking Benavidez. It could be more of an ego thing where David was disrespectful to him and Canelo thinks doesn’t have to face him, but I personally don’t think he is scared. 

“We are all prizefighters, we’re not scared of anybody. We’re warriors. We put our hearts on the line, we train to fight so none of us are scared. I don’t believe that even though there might be a few out there.”

McCumby may have his own hands full soon with a potential showdown versus former 168-pound titlist Caleb Plant on the horizon. Plant fought both Alvarez and Benavidez, suffering an 11th-round stoppage to the former in November 2021 and losing a unanimous decision to Benavidez in March 2023. 

Alvarez, arguably boxing’s biggest star and no doubt a future Hall of Famer, has ignored calls for a fight versus Benavidez, a fight which just might be the biggest in boxing. Canelo opted to face Jaime Munguia in May, outpointing the former world champion over 12 rounds. The move forced Benavidez to debut at light heavyweight, where he won a unanimous decision over former WBC titlist Oleksandr Gvozdyk. 

On Thursday, the WBC gave David Benavidez an additional one-week extension to decide on which of the two mandatory spots he wants to keep, be it at 168 or 175. A move back to 168 makes sense if Canelo is willing to face him. However, the super middleweight king is rumored to be in negotiations with Edgar Berlanga and Chris Eubank Jr. for a potential September bout. 

“I think Canelo knocks him (Berlanga) out in six rounds,” said McCumby. “I don’t think Berlanga has the seasoning and the ring IQ to take that but I’m happy he is potentially getting that opportunity. 

“I saw the headlines for that fight (Eubank Jr.) and it didn’t really make me excited but still could be a good fight. I think Canelo stops him a little bit later. I think Eubank can move pretty well and definitely has the skill but I question if he can keep up with someone like Canelo.”

While McCumby believes Benavidez presents a significantly tougher challenge to Canelo, he isn’t quite ready to pick the four-division champion to lose. Benavidez 

“If I’m to put my money on the line, it’s a bit hard, man,” McCumby said. “David doesn’t really have the bounciness and the footwork but David has a high work rate and he can’t stand in front of you so maybe it’s hard to say.

“I’ll probably put it on Canelo but then again you just don’t know what the age is as well.”

Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” back in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at [email protected].