David Benavidez plans to appeal to the WBC to allow him to remain mandatory for Canelo Alvarez’s 168-lb title despite winning the interim WBC belt at 175 last Saturday night.
According to Boxingscene, Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) still wants to keep his spot as the WBC mandatory for Canelo, while at the same time be the mandatory at 175 for champion Artur Beterbiev’s belt.
Benavidez has a full plate of food being the mandatory for Beterbiev’s WBC 175-lb title, and now he wants to keep his spot as Canelo’s mandatory 168. That sounds like a glutton who can’t get enough food and very unfair to the hard-working contenders at 168.
A Question of Fairness
If the World Boxing Council allows Benavidez to hold two mandatory spots simultaneously, it would be unfair to the contenders in those weight classes, as he should decide which of the two he’s going to compete in.
It’s more than a little unfair for Benavidez to be mandatory for two weight classes with the WBC. He should have automatically lost his WBC mandatory sport at 168 when he moved up to 175 to fight in a title eliminator against Oleksandr Gvozdyk last weekend.
Mandatory in Two Weight Classes
Benavidez captured the WBC interim 175-lb title in that fight and is calling himself a champion now. The WBC has rules about fighters not being allowed to hold belts in two weight classes with their organization.
This is just one of several problems that prevent Benavidez from getting a shot at Canelo’s belts at 168. There’s also the $200 million that Canelo wants for that fight.
The Mexican star hasn’t said anything about changing his mind about wanting the $200M, and he tends to be firm when he says something. Benavidez is under the illusion that Canelo has changed his mind about wanting that money, and it’s unclear what has given him the impression that he’s not still asking for that.
Benavidez’s Injuries
In the fight against Gvozdyk, Benavidez suffered a left-hand and right-arm injury, which could make it risky for him to be used as an opponent for Canelo’s next fight in September.
Benavidez’s promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz, believes the injuries won’t get in the way of him preparing for a freight against Canelo in September. If you’re Canelo, do you want to risk fighting someone with two injured limbs?
Benavidez needs to heal and not get ahead of himself, thinking he can jump back into the ring with two injured arms.
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