By Sean Jones: Deontay Wilder says Canelo Alvarez is “too small” for David Benavidez, and he would be an easier fight for him than his recent win over Caleb Plant.
The way that Canelo has seeming been avoiding Benavidez for the last three years, it seems clear that he realizes that he can’t beat him. Hence, he’s chosen to avoid Beenavidez like the plague and mostly fight weak opposition hand-picked from England to preserve his time at the top artificially.
Wilder sees the 6’2″ hulking Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) as an example of a fighter competing below his natural weight class by campaigning at 168 instead of 175 is where he should be, given his massive frame.
The 5’8″ Canelo, essentially a pumped-up junior middleweight, would be crushed by Benavidez and dominated in a worse way than he was when he lost to WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol by a one-sided twelve-round unanimous decision last March.
Some boxing fans believe the whole purpose behind Canelo fighting Bivol is to make it less obvious to the world that he’s avoiding Benavidez like the plague.
By fighting Bivol, a guy that he has no hope of ever beating, Canelo doesn’t look like he’s running from Benavidez, which is fair to say that he is. He doesn’t want that work.
Fighting Benavidez would be a nightmare for Canelo, and he’d have a lot more to worry about than getting outboxed for twelve rounds like he would facing Bivol.
Benavidez too big for Canelo
“Canelo’s too small for him. That’s an easy fight for David, in my opinion,” said Deontay Wilder to ESNEWS when asked about David Benavidez fighting Canelo Alvarez.
“I think he’s going to wear him down even quicker. I think Caleb gave Benavidez more of a challenge than Canelo would give him. I think Canelo is way too small, but who knows? This is boxing. You never know until you know.
“It was amazing. In my eyes, there was no losers in that fight,” said Wilder about Benavidez’s clash against Caleb Plant. “Caleb did a good job against a guy that is definitely bigger than anybody in that weight division. He knows that as well.
“That’s one of the oldest tricks in the boxing business. To be able to get in a division where you can make the weight but be bigger than the weight.
“I always say boxing is business. So if you can do it and they allow it, why not handle business accordingly? You know you’re going to be stronger than everybody. You might not be faster or more skilled, but you’re much bigger.
“You’re like the big brother to everybody,” said Wilder about Benavidez. “I think when he go up, he’s going to find it a little more difficult and a little more challenging for himself.
“If he wants to make it a little more challenging for himself. It’s a struggle to make weight. Eventually, he’s going to have to go up because you’re already big and you’re trying to lose all that weight. You’re body is not designed to go up and down like that. It’s a health hazard,” said Wilder.
