David Benavidez finally knows how to secure the fight against Canelo Alvarez: “This is the only way”

Despite moving up to a new weight class, David Benavidez believes he can force a fight with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez soon.

The 27-year-old has been keen on this fight for some time, but the desire is not mutual: unified champion Alvarez said the fight would bring him nothing.

Fed up of waiting, Benavidez recently moved up to the light heavyweight division, making him the WBC's mandatory challenger to the winner of the upcoming undisputed fight between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.

In an interview with the podcast Organically Speaking, Benavidez revealed that he hopes the new path will still lead to Canelo.

“Canelo says I can't offer him anything. I think Canelo is a great fighter. I believe in myself. I think I can finish him off. If I now have all four major world titles in the 175-kilometre class, in my eyes that is the only way the fight can take place.

I'm already number one on the shortlist to fight for all four belts at 175 pounds against the winner of Beterbiev-Bivol. If I win all four belts, that would be a great fight and maybe we could do a catchweight fight. You can take the 168-pound belts, I can take the 175-pound belts and we can fight together, winner takes all.”

It seems that organizing a superfight requires an ambitious plan, and Benavidez has set himself one of the biggest tasks in the sport, which is to defeat either Beterbiev or Bivol.

Canelo is already considering scrapping those plans, recently saying that a rematch with Bivol, should he go unchallenged in October, is currently the only fight option that would add to his already impressive legacy.