A fight against Benavidez is a risk that Canelo does not want to take

Historically, there are a number of big fights in boxing that never happened. Currently, a potential mega-fight between Canelo Alvarez and David Benavidez is in high demand. However, facing Benavidez is a risk that Canelo is not willing to take.

David Benavidez is a former two-time WBC world champion who lost his title twice outside the ring. Benavidez was stripped in September 2018 due to a positive doping test, and after regaining the title, it was stripped again in August 2020 for failing to make weight.

Two years later, Benavidez defeated David Lemieux by 3rd round TKO to win the WBC interim super middleweight title. Benavidez challenged Canelo, but unfortunately, Canelo decided to go in a different direction.

Canelo defeated Gennady “GGG” Golovkin, then 40, in their trilogy fight by unanimous decision. After the trilogy fight, Alvarez was upset at his post-fight press conference when a media representative asked the Benavidez question.

Alvarez responded that he doesn't fight Mexicans because he represents Mexico. Alvarez also took a swipe at the credentials of former two-time WBC world champion David Benavidez, suggesting that Benavidez hasn't accomplished enough to deserve a title shot.

Within 12 months of making these statements, Alvarez fought John Ryder, a man who had suffered five defeats and never won a world title. After defeating Ryder by unanimous decision, Alvarez defeated Mexican boxer Jaime Munguia.

After contradicting himself by saying that Benavidez had too few wins and arguing that he doesn't fight Mexicans, Canelo came up with a new excuse. In March 2024, Canelo Alvarez, who normally earns about $30 million per fight, announced that he would agree to fight David Benavidez for $200 million.

Canelo's reason for asking for extra money is rehydration. In an interview on the subject, Canelo stated: “He (Benavidez) doesn't do anything for me. He only brings 25 pounds more tonight. That's all.”

Six months later, Canelo Alvarez fought Edgar Berlanga, a man who had nothing to offer, and he competed in his first world championship fight. In addition, Berlanga was a challenger for the unification world championship fight at 168 pounds and rehydrated to 193 pounds on fight night.

When analyzing the chronology of the incriminating evidence, it is easy to see that Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is avoiding David Benavidez. The difference between Benavidez and Canelo's last four opponents is that Canelo knew he could beat them, but he believes he can beat David Benavidez.

For Canelo, fighting David Benavidez is a classic case of high risk and low reward, and that is the reason why Canelo has put a $200 million price tag on this potential fight. Canelo may say that Benavidez has done nothing, but looking at the price Canelo has set, it shows that he respects Benavidez.

As a potential opponent, David Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) is everything Canelo doesn't want to see. Benavidez is an aggressive, highly skilled fighter who is younger, has the size advantage and is a volume puncher with exceptional hand speed.

It's tragic that fans won't get the fight they've been demanding for two years. Throughout all of this, WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman helped Canelo navigate the fight against Benavidez.

Back in November 2022, Mauricio Sulaiman declared that the winner of the David Benavidez vs. Caleb Plant fight would be the mandatory challenger for Canelo Alvarez. Benavidez defeated Plant by unanimous decision, but Sulaiman did not order the fight.

A year later, Sulaiman declared that the winner of the David Benavidez-Demetrius Andrade fight would be mandatory for Canelo. Benavidez stopped Andrade in the sixth round, but again Sulaiman failed to order the Canelo-Benavidez fight.

The last two years have been very frustrating for combat sports fans and boxing experts. Everyone is demanding that the Canelo vs. Benavidez fight happen, but Canelo ignores the public's demands.

Recently, Benavidez moved up to 175, but he says he would go back down to 168 to face Canelo. So the question is, will we ever see a Canelo vs. Benavidez fight?

Given that Canelo is content to live off his successes in big, risky fights, I would predict that this mega fight will never happen and will go down in history as the biggest failure of this era.