By Dan Ambrose: Jose Benavidez Sr. believes Jermell Charlo is more focused on the sport than Canelo Alvarez and will send the wealthy businessman/undisputed super middleweight champion down to his third career defeat on September 30th on Showtime PPV.
Canelo picked Jermell from the 154-lb division with the obvious intent of improving his chances of keeping his four belts. Benavidez Sr. sees this as pure cherry-picking by Canelo, and he feels it’s unfair to comb the weight classes below him to select opponents
. Like many, Jose Sr. thinks Canelo should be defending his four belts against hard-working contenders like his son, David Benavidez, who has been the WBC mandatory for two years and still hasn’t been given a chance to fight for a title.
Jose Sr. feels the loss will be a bitter pill for Canelo (59-2-2, 39 KOs) to swallow, but he only has himself to blame because his focus has increasingly drifted away from boxing towards his favorite hobby, golf.
Canelo has been playing way too much golf, and it’s been reported that he even watches it during training camp. But it’s not just Canelo’s hobby that will potentially lead to him losing to Jermell.
The main reason is that Canelo has picked up many bad habits by being lazy, always looking for one-punch knockouts so he can have an early night, and doesn’t need to go the full 12 round distance.
Jermell with nothing to lose
“Man, I don’t think it’s fair that someone can do whatever they want in boxing. If it were my option, I would want to fight [a boxer] from 147 or 154 matched against David Benavidez. Would that be fair or good? I don’t think it’s fair,” said Jose Benavidez Sr. to MillCity Boxing, complaining about Canelo Alvarez fighting 154-lb fighter Jermell Charlo on September 30th.
Of course, it’s not fair what Canelo is doing, selecting fighters from the lower weight classes below him to defend against, but boxing isn’t well governed, so champions can stuff like that to artificially keep themselves on their thrones longer.
Some would argue that Canelo’s popularity is what allows him to do these things that other champions can’t get away with. He’s sitting on top of the sport as the face of boxing, and with that position comes perks.
“I don’t even think that would be good for boxing. I think you got to stick to where you’re at, and fighting Charlo you and fighting Spence, that’s two divisions going down,” said Jose Sr.
“If you want to fight these people, why don’t you go all the way down to their weight? Why would you want somebody to come all the way to 168 or 165 somewhere around there?
“I don’t think that’s fair, but people [Canelo] can do whatever they want to do. I’m not a big fan of that. I don’t support that. I don’t think that’s fair. Of course, he has a chance. He has nothing to lose. He’s a little guy coming all the way from 154 to 168.
“It would be a big embarrassment for a 154 to beat a 168, but Charlo has nothing to lose. If he loses, he is a little guy. He has nothing to lose, but I think if he beats Canelo, that would be bad for Canelo’s history. For him to try to make history in boxing for his legacy would be really bad.
Canelo not focused
“He’s a little bit more focused than Canelo. Canelo has not been looking the same,” said Benavidez Sr. “He’s very in golf right now. I think he has so much money. I don’t think the motivation is there anymore, in my opinion.”
Is Canelo’s penchant for golf destroying his career? Well, it certainly isn’t helping. If you’ve got a guy who dreams of being a golf pro on the PGA circuit, that’s not someone who will be at his best in boxing.
“I think he has a lot of businesses that he has to take care of, and when you have a lot of business, sometimes you can’t sleep because you gain a lot of money, but then you lose a lot of money,” said Jose Sr.
“Nobody likes to lose, so I think he’s not 100% boxing focused. 100, and we’ve seen that in his last past four fights. Jermell, I think the only thing he’s doing is boxing. I don’t think he’s playing any other sports. He’s focused, so he has a big opportunity and a big chance to beat Canelo Alvarez.
“I’m going, to be honest with you. I think, in my opinion, Jermell will beat him. I see Jermell beating him by points. I don’t think he’s going to stop him, but he’s slick. If he stays on the outside and boxes him, I think he looks a little bit fresher, and he’s a little lighter.
“I believe in moving around and coming strong the day of the fight. I see Jermell winning by decision,” said Jose Sr.
Big Charlo loses to Canelo
“Jermall, I don’t think. Now that’s a different situation there. Every time I see him, he’s always drinking and he’s going through a lot of things in his life. That’s what I hear,” said Benavidez Sr.
“I don’t know. It seems like it. He hasn’t fought for almost two-three years. So there has to be something going on there. I think his brother Jermell has a better chance of beating Canelo Alvarez.
“I think Jermall, he definitely gets stopped by Canelo Alvarez, in my opinion.”
With the way Jermall has looked in some of his Youtube videos, it’s questionable whether he’ll ever fight again. He looks ragged and in a bad place mentally.
Jermall already looked shot in his last fight against Juan Macias Montiel, and that was two years go. You can’t have that kind of inactivity and return to the form you once had.
“I couldn’t believe it. Caleb Plant is becoming a mean guy,” said Benavidez Sr. when asked about his thoughts on Caleb Plant slapping Jermall Charlo.
“I like him. I couldn’t believe it. I saw that over and over because it was so fast. Hopefully, they can make that fight. I’m with Caleb Plant. I’m a fan of Caleb Plant, brother.
“I’m hoping, and hopefully, that fight [Plant vs. Jermall Charlo] happens. Yeah, I’m a fan man because he did prove a lot when he fought David Benavidez and he fought Canelo.
“He keeps coming, and he showed that he’s a true champion and sometimes it doesn’t matter if you win or lose.
“Look at UFC; as long as you give a good show and don’t run from nobody, you’re going to have my respect,” said Jose Sr. about Plant.
