Canelo says David Benavidez is using his name to boost his career

Canelo Alvarez says David Benavidez is just using his name to draw attention to his career. No one would pay attention to Benavidez's career without mentioning Canelo's name.

Alvarez is right. 11-year pro Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) hasn't fought the kind of opponents during his career that would have made him a household name and a star like Canelo. Benavidez now has to stick to the preliminary fights because he's not popular enough to headline PPVs.

Mentioning Canelo's name and complaining about him ducking has become a shortcut for Benavidez to gain some fame. It's a superficial way to become popular because Benavidez gains his popularity not in the ring but rather by frequently mentioning Canelo's name.

That's a cheap way to gain a following, but it didn't work for Benavidez to become a PPV attraction in the U.S. among casual boxing fans. You have to do more than moan about Canelo 24/7 to become a nationwide pay-per-view attraction in the U.S.

“They can say whatever they want, but if they don't mention my name, nobody will pay attention to them. I get it, I get it. They have to say my name to get attention, so I get it,” Canelo Alvarez told IFLTV, explaining the reason why David Benavidez constantly mentions his name.

Benavidez now fights in the 175kg division and doesn't look like he'll be a star in that weight class. In his light heavyweight debut last May, Benavidez showed no power and struggled to defeat veteran Oleksandr Gvozdyk by unanimous decision after 12 rounds, in a fight that was much closer than the judges' generous scores.

It's probably too late for Benavidez to become a star like Canelo because he hasn't taken on the challenges he needed in his career to make the leap to stardom. What he needs to do is make the most of it at 175 or 200 by forgetting Canelo and beating the winner of the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol fight.

If Benavidez can become undisputed champion at light heavyweight, it will help his career and he won't have to constantly chase Canelo. Benavidez can make a lot of money by fighting Beterbiev and Bivol two or three times. If Benavidez can beat those guys, he should move up to cruiserweight and face IBF champion Jai Opetaia if he still holds a title by then.