By Sean Jones: Canelo Alvarez’s trainer/manager Eddy Reynoso says two-time WBC super middleweight champion David Benavidez isn’t the fighter many boxing fans believe him to be.
Reynoso questions the credentials of undefeated Benavidez (25-0, 22 KOs), asking which champions has he beaten and how many unification fights has he had during his eight-year professional career.
It appears that the pressure from fans on Canelo is starting to get to Reynoso, who now is seemingly justifying why the Mexican star shouldn’t have to ace Benavidez.
Reynoso sounds like he’s trying to stop an approaching problem in Benavidez by devaluing his accomplishments, hoping the fans will join in and dismiss him. Unfortunately, this trick that Reynoso is trying isn’t going to work.
He can discredit Benavidez’s past accomplishments all he wants, but the fans are still going got demand that Canelo fight him because they recognize talent when they see it.
Moreover, the fans are tired of seeing Canelo fight paper champions, which he’s been doing almost elusively for the last three years.
Reynoso downgrades Benavidez
“David Benavidez is a good fighter, but for me, he has not achieved what people think. My respects to him, but how many champions has he beaten? How many defenses has he made? How many unifications has he completed?” said Canelo’s trainer/manager Eddy Reynoso to FOX Deportes.
Interestingly, Reynoso wasn’t bad-mouthing the champions Canelo has been fighting lately at 168. He didn’t blast Billy Joe Saunders, Rocky Fielding, Callum Smith, or Caleb Plant for failing to beat champions or unify divisions.
The problem is, the fans want to see Canelo fight Benavidez, a lot more than they do little-known WBC cruiserweight champion Ilunga Makabu.
Canelo’s loyal boxing fans have patiently put up with three years of watching him fighting paper champions from England one after another and then a weak American champion Caleb Plant.
Like many, the fans thought that once Canelo finally finished picking over the belt-holders at 168, he would fight Benavidez, Artur Beterbiev, Demetrius Andrade, Gennadiy Golovkin, and Joe Smith Jr.
It seems Reynoso is setting up excuses for why Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) should continue to duck Benavidez. Instead of giving the fans what they want and thinking about them for a change, Reynoso is giving the fans chopped liver.
It’s kind of pathetic. Where’s the sense of obligation on Reynoso and Canelo’s part? When you know that the boxing public and the network platforms like DAZN want to see Canelo face Benavidez, why would you pick Ilunga Makabu as an opponent?
Canelo’s fans are unable to see what he’s doing
If this is just about Canelo building his legacy for future generations to be in awe of, it’s an ignorant move because the fans from the future won’t care.
No one cares about how many titles a fighter wins other than the super ultra-hardcore nerdy type of stat-freak fan. The average fan doesn’t care about that kind of stuff, and I doubt that Canelo cares about it either.
You can argue the main reason Canelo is beating weak champions at 168 and cruiserweight is that its easy money, and he doesn’t have to risk getting battered and beaten.
If Canelo had fought Benavidez two or three years ago, he likely would have lost to him, and his paydays would star declining because the fans would expect him to try and avenge the loss. It’s so utterly predictable. Benavidez beats Canelo three times in a row, and his career would be finished.
But rather than fighting Benavidez and risk watching his career implode, Canelo makes the excuse that he wants to unify the 168-lb division, which coincidently had three weak champions from England holding titles and a light-hitting American holding the other belt.
Now that Canelo has accomplished his mission fighting these poor champions, he’s swerving Benavidez to go up to cruiserweight to fight another weak belt-holder in Makabu. It’s so apparent what Canelo is doing, and it’s interesting how his fans don’t see through the facade.