By Sean Jones: Eddie Hearn says Canelo Alvarez will agree to fight David Benavidez if he’s victorious next month against Demetrius Andrade on November 25th on Showtime PPV.
Hearn expects WBC interim super middleweight champion Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) to stop the former two-division champ Andrade, and once he does that, he’ll have a claim to face Canelo for his undisputed championship.
A win for Benavidez over Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs) would leave Canelo with no choice but to fight him because the WBC has already made it known that he must defend against the ‘Mexican Monster’ by next March.
There’s no one else for Canelo to fight that would give him an excuse for swerving Benavidezs, as he’s not interested in fighting Terence Crawford or trying to avenge his loss to Dmitry Bivol.
If Canelo Alvarez decides to fight the inactive middleweight champion Jermall Charlo, he will likely be heavily criticized and ridiculed by fans nonstop. It would be akin to waving a red flag in front of fans, who would then turn on him.
Canelo will fight Benavidez
“When you look at Canelo, you got to look at where the real challenges are coming from. Benavidez against Andrade is a good fight. I expect Benavidez to stop Demetrius Andrade, and when he does, I think he’s going to make a real claim to fight Canelo Alvarez, and I think Canelo at that point will take the fight,” said Eddie Hearn to Fighthype.
It’s going to be next to impossible for Benavidez to knockout Andrade because he’s slick, and he’s already said that he’s going to be moving around the ring to keep from getting hit.
“I think it will be that big that he will take it, and I don’t think he’s afraid of David Benavidez. Canelo isn’t afraid of anyone, and he will fight everybody. The deal’s got to be right, of course, but he’ll still fight them.
When Caleb Plant used movement against Benavidez, he had I’m tied in knots, helpless to land his combinations. When Plant got tired late in the fight, he was finally there to be hit, and that’s when Benavidez enjoyed his success.
“Too many people are too passive and disappointed with Canelo Alvarez,” said Hearn. “Look at [Jermell] Charlo. I was going to say disgraceful, but I feel like that’s disrespectful to a fighter. But it was like you’re getting whatever he got 8 million, 10 million. You didn’t really try and win the fight, did you?
“So you need young, hungry fighters that are going to go in. I think Caleb Plant did really well [against Canelo]. I thought Billy Joe Saunders did well. These are guys who didn’t really show any respect or fear, and I feel like Benavidez is one of those guys,” said Hearn.
It’s too bad Benavidez doesn’t prove himself first against Dmitry Bivol to earn the fight with Canelo because that would make it interesting for comparison purposes.
We already know Benavidez wants nothing to do with David Morrell Jr., but it would be a good test to see how well he matches up with Bivol, especially after all the bragging he did about doing well in a sparring session with him. If Benavidez can beat Bivol, he’d deserve the fight with Canelo, and if not, oh well.
Crawford too small to beat Canelo
“I think [Terence] Crawford would be another one of those guys,” Hearn continued. “Crawford’s a winner and would do everything to try and win that fight. He’d take chances, but I think he’s too small, and I think you’re going to get beat.
“Crawford’s only going to get beat by being too small, and I think against Canelo Alvarez, you’re not talking about two divisions like Charlo.”
There’s nothing that Canelo can get out of a fight with the welterweight Crawford, who has already said he’s just focused on money fights for the remainder of his career.
If all Crawford sees Canelo for is a paycheck, that translates into another Jermell Charlo, looking for retirement money. Crawford has Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis problems, and he needs to face him because he’s waiting for his title shot, which is now overdue.
“You’re talking about three divisions, and as good as he is and as good as his movement is, I just don’t think he beats Canelo,” said Hearn about Crawford needing to move up three weight classes to fight Canelo. That would be like Crawford fighting a super featherweight.
“No, I don’t,” said Hearn when asked if he thinks Benavidez beats Canelo after watching Alvarez’s fight with Jermell Charlo. “You never really know with Saul how he is or what he’s got left because he’s a very proud man.”
Benavidez won’t like Hearn saying that Canelo will beat him, but I guess he’ll have to learn to live with it. If Benavidez struggles against Andrade, there will be others who will think Canelo will beat him. He almost lost to Plant, so it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that Andrade will defeat him.
“So I saw more than most, but I still didn’t see everything,” said Hearn. “So when you see him after a fight, and obviously he came off the operation, and you know his knee’s not great, certain fights that he went into, he definitely wasn’t 100% in, but I do feel that the Charlo fight, he was up for that fight.
“I feel like physically he was better, mentally he was in a good place, and if he’s good physically, I think he’ll beat Benavidez. I think he’ll beat Crawford, but I’m biased because I love Canelo.”
Benavidez is a good basic slugger, but he’s easy to hit and moves like he’s fighting on a pair of stilts. He’s like a Frankenstein monster inside the ring, and he could have a lot of problems trying to beat Andrade.
It won’t be surprising if we see Benavidez being given a controversial decision, though, as he’s the A-side and the younger guy with more of a future ahead of him than the 35-year-old Andrade.
When judges face this situation, they often give the victory to the younger fighter, which is unfair.
“Of course,” said Hearn when asked if Canelo is still his boy. “I just take people how they treat you. Canelo Alvarez, we promoted six of his fights. We made him an absolute fortune, hundreds of millions of dollars.
“He made us a lot of money. We put on the great shows together, and we made history. He and Eddy Reynoso were always great fun, good guys socially, in boxing,” said Hearn.
