By Sean Jones: Teddy Atlas says Canelo Alvarez still must beat David Benavidez to claim the #1 spot in the 168-lb division.
For Canelo to take the top spot, he’s going to have to show some courage and face the boogeyman in the division in unbeaten former two-time WBC champion Benavidez (24-0, 21 KOs).
Boxing fans are starting to notice that Canelo has been avoiding Benavidez, and it’s lowering their opinion of him.
Canelo’s recent victory over IBF super middleweight champion Caleb ‘Sweethands’ Plant last Saturday night made him the undisputed champion in the division, but that still didn’t make him the #1 guy in the weight class.
All that did was put Canelo on top of those paper champions – Plant, Billy Joe Saunders, Callum Smith, and Rocky Fielding.
Atlas: Canelo must beat Benavidez to become #1 at 168
“For me, at 168, the stiffest test would be Benavidez if he [Canelo] really wants to [claim the #1 spot],” said Teddy Atlas on his Podcast.
“To me, that would be the stiffest test because Benavidez is the most dangerous and physically challenging of all of them.
“So, if he [Canelo] beat him, then he really catches 168 for me. Those guys [the champions Canelo has been beating at super middleweight] might be a little technically better; I’ll give it to you.
“They might be, but Benavidez is bigger, stronger, and he’s more dangerous,” said Atlas
I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for Canelo to take the fight with Benavidez if I were Atlas because I don’t think it will happen in this lifetime.
Maybe in a parallel universe, there’s another version of Canelo willing to step up to the plate and face Benavidez, but not in this one. Canelo has already shown his stripes by steering clear of Benavidez for the last eight years, and that’s not likely to change.
Canelo Alvarez didn’t clean out the 168-lb division, and he’s got to deal with the #1 guy, David Benavidez, to claim the top spot in the division.
The unbeaten younger, bigger and stronger Benavidez (24-0, 21 KOs) remains as the last hurdle for the 31-year-old Canelo to get past before he can claim the top spot in the true sense.
Benavidez the top dog until dethroned
Canelo must beat Benavidez, and until he does that, he can’t call himself the #1 fighter in the 168-lb division. He’d still be #2, behind the stronger, bigger, and much younger Benavidez.
The 6’2″ Benavidez is still the best at 168, and he’s unbeaten and seemingly being avoided by Canelo, which is a clear sign that he doesn’t think he can beat him. When you avoid the #1 guy, as we’re seeing with Canelo swerving Benavidez, that means you don’t believe you can win.
Canelo captured his WBC title in a WEAK way by facing Avni Yildirim for the belt rather than taking on Benavidez in 2020 when he held the strap.
It wasn’t until Benavidez lost his WBC title by coming in overweight for his defense against Roamer Alexis Angulo last year in August, suddenly Canelo showed interest in fighting for that belt.
Surprisingly, the World Boxing Council let Canelo fight Yildirim for the WBC 168-lb belt rather than insisting he faces the #1 ranked Benavidez.
What’s troubling about that move is that Yildirim hadn’t fought in two years and was coming off a loss to Anthony Dirrell at the time.
Why did the WBC allow Canelo to fight Yildirim for the vacant title, given the Turkish fighter’s inactivity and defeat to Dirrell? Yildirim had been Canelo’s sparring partner in the past.
The logical thing for the WBC would have been to order Canelo to fight Benavidez for the vacant 168-lb strap, but it’s obvious what would have happened had they done that. Canelo likely wouldn’t have agreed to fight for the WBC’s title.