By Brian Webber: Unbeaten WBC interim super middleweight champion David Benavidez & highly ranked contender Demetrius Andrade is in negotiation for a fight later this year, with the winner of the contest to be in a position to challenge for the four 168-lb belts against Canelo Alvarez or Jermell Charlo.
Dan Rafael reports on Twitter Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) and Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs) are in talks for a fight in the fall.
Benavidez has patiently waited for his opportunity to fight 168-lb champion Canelo for two years, and his shot at the full WBC title is long overdue at this stage.
Canelo had dodged Benavidez & Demetrius
For his part, #1 WBA, #1 WBO, and #5 WBC Andrade has also been trying to get a title shot against the champion Canelo but has been ignored & bypassed, as the Mexican star has chosen to take an easier path in the last year, defending his super middleweight titles against the slow, easy to hit British fighter John Ryder and the washed 40-year-old Gennadiy Golovkin.
The winner of the Benavidez-Andrade fight will be in a better position to exert pressure on the World Boxing Council to order the WBC 168-lb champion, be it Canelo or Jermell Charlo, to defend against them or be stripped or more likely demoted to ‘Champion in Recess.’
Unfortunately, it’s predictable that the WBC will allow the Canelo vs. Jermell winner to circumvent their responsibility of facing the Benavidez or Andrade by giving them the ‘Champion in Recess’ tag to avoid the potential unpleasantries that would come from fighting one of these killers.
It would be pathetic beyond belief for the WBC to allow Canelor or Jermell to avoid having to defend against the winner of the Benavidez vs. Demetrius fight, and yet so utterly predictable.
The good news is the Benavidez-Andrade winner will almost surely be holding the WBC belt as the full champion by next year, but alas, they probably won’t pick up that belt inside the ring by fighting whoever emerges the winner between Canelo and Jermell.
For all intents & purposes, Benavidez or Andrade will be the WBC email champion, preventing them from receiving the credit & plaudits they otherwise would be given from boxing fans if they beat the Canelo-Demetrius winner for the full belt.
Per sources, a fight between WBC interim super middleweight titlist David Benavidez vs. Demetrius Andrade is in the works to headline a fall Showtime PPV card. #boxing
— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) August 7, 2023
Benavidez’s fight against the 34-year-old Andrade, while a good one, will be a step down for him from his last contest in March against Caleb Plant.
There will be less fan interest in a Benavidez vs. Andrade fight, and it won’t be the massive payday that the ‘Mexican Monster’ has been waiting for against the superstar Canelo.