Daniel Jacobs thinks superstar Canelo Alvarez is avoiding a fight against David Benavidez to choose “other fields” so that he can leave the sport on a high note.
Jacobs’ Call for Canelo vs. Benavidez
The former IBF/WBA middleweight champion Jacobs would like to see Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs), the undisputed 168-lb champion, fight Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) “next.”
Benavidez is currently Canelo’s WBC mandatory at 168, but that may change if he chooses to keep his WBC light heavyweight mandatory slot that he recently won with his twelve-round unanimous decision over former 175-lb champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June 15th.
The World Boxing Council has given Benavidez two weeks to decide which of the two mandatory spots he wants to keep: 168 or 175. He can’t keep both.
Canelo, 33, is open to a fight against Benavidez and even invited him into the ring after his recent 12-round unanimous decision win over Jaime Munguia on May 4th, but his asking price for the fight contest is $200 million.
It’s a fair price for a fight of that magnitude, but thus far, none of the major promoters or money-men have stepped up to give him the dough.
Canelo’s Concerns & Benavidez’s Status
“I would love to see that fight against Benavidez. I think it’s the next fight he should take. It’s something the fans want, and that’s why be even more of a go for him,” said Daniel Jacobs to Fighthype about wanting to see Canelo Alvarez fight David Benavidez in a mega-fight.
Canelo has already said that Benavidez offers him only 25 extra pounds on fight night, and he has a point. Benavidez is a light heavyweight in size, but he’s not a big draw. His fight last year against Demetrius Andrade, which he headlined on November 25, 2023, reportedly brought in low PPV numbers on Showtime.
“Benavidez is a big, tough, strong fighter, and he’s also the next and the now. I just think Canelo is probably avoiding that and trying to choose and go other fields and go out with a bang,” said Jacobs.
Benavidez’s Alleged Dodging & Jacobs’ Motivation
Benavidez, 27, isn’t “the next” at 168 because he’s fighting on borrowed time at 168 and should be campaigning at 175 due to his immense size. He’s already said himself that the only fight he wants at 168 is Canelo.
If that’s all Benavidez is returning to 168 for, he’s not “the next” at super middleweight because he’s only coming back to the division for that one fight. Besides that, Benavidez is a light heavyweight, and he wants to fight with Canelo for the money and increase in popularity he would receive from fighting him.
Many feel that Benavidez has been ducking David Morrell Jr., the former WBA ‘regular’ super middleweight champion, who called him out many times. That’s a fight that Benavidez should have taken rather than face 35-year-old Demetrius Andrade last November. Benavidez doesn’t have room to say Canelo is avoiding him when he’s doing some avoiding himself by not facing Morrell.
In a competitive match, Daniel Jacobs lost a twelve-round unanimous decision against Canelo on May 4, 2019. Interestingly, since then, Jacobs’ career has slowed to a crawl, with him fighting only three times.
Some boxing fans believe the big payday Jacobs received fighting Canelo has diminished his desire to stay busy with his career. Hence, he’s fought just three times in the last five years.
Jacobs is returning to the ring this Saturday night, July 6th, to face Shane Mosley Jr. in a 10-round fight at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
This will be Jacob’s first contest since his twelve-round split decision loss to John Ryder on February 12, 2022, in London, England. In that fight, Jacobs gassed out after six rounds and was outworked by Ryder in the second half of the fight.
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