By Sean Jones: David Benavidez says he’ll be moving up to 175 soon if he fails to get fights against Canelo, Demetrius Andrade, Jermall Charlo, and Caleb Plant at 168.
Benavidez says if he fails to get any of those fighters to accept a fight with him, he’s going to go up to 175 and fight for a world title in that weight class.
Unfortunately for Benavidez, if Canelo gets his hands on one or more of the titles at 175, he could be locked out of a fight just as we’ve been seeing at 168. Boxing isn’t like the NFL or NBA in which teams are forced to fight other good teams.
In boxing, fighters can pick & choose whoever they wish to. The problem is even worse when you get a fighter that becomes a superstar like Canelo, as he picks whoever he wants to fight, and there are not many guys like Benavidez can do about it.
The former two-time WBC super middleweight champion Benavidez (25-0, 22 KOs) has been pursuing fights against those two dogs at 168 but has failed to get any of them to accept the fight.
Benavidez is fighting David Lemieux (43-4, 36 KOs) next on May 21st for the WBC interim 168-lb title on Showtime Championship Boxing at the Gila River Arena, Glendale.
If Benavidez captures the interim WBC 168lb title, he’ll be in a position to challenge WBC champion Canelo Alvarez.
However, there’s no guarantee that Benavidez will get the fight against Canelo, who is the Franchise champion, and that’s a belt that allows a fighter to pick & choose who they wish to fight with the WBC.
Benavidez to move up to 175
“If I can’t get a fight against Boo Boo Andrade, Caleb Plant, or Charlo or Canelo, I’m going to go up to 175,” said David Benavidez to PBC Podcast. “I’ve been waiting trying to make these fights happen for a long, long time, and everybody has been just giving me the runaround,” said Benavidez.
It’s surprising that Benavidez is only now realizing that he’s being given the runaround by the other top fighters because it’s been obvious for years now.
Rather than wasting time fighting faded guys like David Lemieux, Benavidez should move up to 175 now because there’s no chance that Canelo will fight him, Caleb Plant won’t either.
Moreover, the recent comment by Jermall Charlo on Mike Tyson’s Hotboxin Podcast about Benavidez having nothing to offer him is a sign that he’s not going to be getting a fight against him.
Interestingly, Charlo is fighting Maciej Sulecki next, a fighter that was recently beaten by Demetrius Andrade. It’s believed that Charlo is just milking his WBC middleweight title with no intention of fighting anyone good until he’s given a fight against Canelo in 2023.
“Everybody is saying that I don’t bring anything to the table and I’m not worth anything and whatever. I know these fighters are scared,” said Benavidez.
“[Jermall] Charlo was supposed to fight Jaime Munguia, and now he’s fighting a guy that is known, a Polish fighter [Maciej Sulecki] that I don’t even know his name.
“So, I don’t understand that Charlo says that I bring no value to the table and that I have nothing to offer him. Now, he’s fighting the other guy [Sulecki] that nobody knows who he is.
“Caleb Plant is fighting Anthony Dirrell, a guy that I stopped when I was 22-years-old. Like I said if I can’t get the fights and fighters, [I’ll be moving up to 175].
“The only reason I want to fight these guys [Canelo, Andrade, Charlo, and Plant] is because they’re the top fighters in the division,” said Benavidez.
“That’s the reason why I want to fight them. Everyone has their say about what’s going on, but if I can’t get fights against them, I’m going up to 175.
Benavidez feels Canelo is ducking him
“It’s been tough to see that,” said Benavidez when asked if it’s been tough watching Canelo fighting all these other fighters, knowing that he can give him a tougher test.
“I can’t think about that. It’s a little frustrating. If I can’t get the fights against these guys, then I need to go my own route and make my own path.
“What frustrates me too about the WBC is I was fighting title eliminators and I think it was two title eliminators. I was supposed to get the fight against Canelo, but Canelo does whatever he wants.
“So now they’re [World Boxing Council] letting me fight for the [WBC 168-lb] interim title so that I can basically stay quiet and NOT ask for the fight against Canelo.
“Even then, I heard that if Canelo beats Bivol and GGG, at the end of the year [December], he might fight John Ryder,” said Benavidez.
“It’s crazy too because Canelo says I have nothing to offer, but I was talking to Luis DeCubas and he said they offered him fifty-five million dollars for a fight against me plus pay-per-view. So, I don’t know how I offer him nothing. Obviously, it’s a big fight.
“Also, he [Canelo] took less money to take the deal with DAZN. Everybody knows that a fight with me is tough, and I bring a lot of people too, I bring a lot of fans. They love how I fight,” Benavidez said.
Getting the runaround
“Now, I’m starting to see that these guys keep giving me the runaround,” said Benavidez. “Now it’s apparent to me that people don’t want to fight for a reason because if I was an easy target, I’d be a good name for anybody’s resume.
“Two-time world champion, 25-0 with 22 knockouts. That’s a great name for anybody’s resume, I don’t care who it is. For people not to want to accept these fights, it’s for a reason.
“Probably when I see these guys at the fights and get in their face and make it a little more personal. I’ve tried to be the nice guy and act a respectful way, but I feel that people just have to get under their skin a little bit more.
“We’ll see. I’m going to keep winning my fights. With social media, it’s a great weapon to put pressure on every other fighter. If I go up to 175, and I get ranked at 175, and #1 at 168, there’s going to be nothing for Canelo to say. He’s eventually going to have to fight me.
“Maybe if it doesn’t happen at 168, there’s a good chance that it happens at 175. We’re going to have to wait and see.
“I feel like I’m the one to beat Canelo because I have the size, I have the speed, I have the strength, and I have the dog in me. I really want this. I feel like whoever I hit, I can hurt. It doesn’t matter who it is.
“I feel like I’ve got that strength and I’ve got that power and I’ve got the speed to make anything possible. I just need the opportunity. That’s why a lot of people don’t want to fight me because they know I want the opportunity. For me, it’s not the money,” said Benavidez.
