David Benavidez says he’s going to ask PBC boss Al Haymon to set-up a fight between him & Jermall Charlo for next May 2024 if undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez defends against Jaime Munguia next on Cinco de Mayo.
Benavidez can obviously try and get Haymon to match him against the popular unbeaten Jermall (33-0, 22 KOs), but that sounds like a hopeless move on his part, showing a sense of naivety about how boxing works.
There’s no way on earth that Benavidez can force Jermall to fight him, and Haymon likely won’t help because it’s far better to have two guys from PBC potentially fighting Canelo rather than just one.
If Benavidez eliminates Jermall as a potential opponent for Canelo by beating him, that’s not good for PBC, so why would they do it? They won’t, and the fact that Benavidez would waste his time asking Haymon to intervene shows how unworldly he is.
Canelo will fight whoever he wants
There are reports that Canelo (60-2-2, 39 KOs) intends to defend against the unbeaten Munguia (42-0, 33 KOs), a fighter that is a relative newcomer to the 168-lb division, having fought just twice in the weight class.
WBC interim super middleweight champion Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs) would not be a happy camper to see #1 WBO Munguia get a title shot ahead of him, as he’s been Canelo’s mandatory for two years and has been campaigning like a politician running for office to get that fight.
Unfortunately, for the hulking cruiserweight-sized 26-year-old Benavidez, there’s nothing that he can do about it if Canelo chooses to face Munguia in a lucrative fight in May, as the sanctioning bodies likely wouldn’t dare try to force the popular Mexican superstar to face him.
If they do that, they’d be risking Canelo vacating their belts, and it’s far for favorable to have him holding their titles than the less well-known and far less popular Benavidez.
Benavidez won’t let Canelo wait him out
“Right now, it’s in my smartest interests that I stay close to the weight and stay training. As much as he’s going to try to wait me out, it’s not going to work,” said David Benavidez to ProBox TV about his belief that Canelo Alvarez is delaying a fight with him until he can longer make weight for the 168-lb division, which could come soon, given how humongous he is. “I’m going to be ready for whenever that opportunity comes.”
Well, Benavidez can continue killing himself to make the 168-lb weight class for as long as he wants, but he’s only hurting himself and putting his health at risk by doing so. Canelo likely won’t fight him now, more on principle than anything.
One thing about Canelo. He does NOT like to be forced into doing anything. If Benavidez & his dad, Jose Sr., had kept their traps shut like David Morrell, and waited until they were picked by Canelo, they’d likely have gotten the opportunity to fight him a long time ago.
It wouldn’t be surprising if Canelo picks Morrell over Benavidez, not because he’s done more to earn the fight, but because he’s shown class by not being pushy, trying to use him as a stepping stone for his career in a selfish, self-serving manner. Morrell has taken the high road, as has Munguia. Both fighters are class acts.
All the begging and complaining they’ve been doing about Canelo has put him off to the point where he wants nothing to do with him. Canelo is a very, very wealthy person, and rich people don’t enjoy having people from the lower classes push them around.
Benavidez may not like this, but there’s a hierarchy and when people have huge wealth like Canelo, who is estimated to have a fortune of $200+ million, he can’t be forced to do anything.
If he feels like he wants to bless a fighter by giving them a fight, he’ll do it, but he WON’T be railroaded into giving them a massive life-changing payday through pressure, which Benavidez & his dad Jose Sr. is trying to do.
“I know people say that he’s done enough and doesn’t need to fight. So why does he have all the belts,” Benavidez continued about Canelo. “He should just do celebrity boxing matches like everybody else. Why is he trying to hold the belts hostage and not giving the #1 contenders the opportunities they deserve?
Does Canelo owe Benavidez a fight?
“People always say that ‘David Benavidez hasn’t done enough to serve the fight.’ When they mandated him to fight Avni Yildirim for the WBC title, he jumped on it quick. I feel like Canelo does need me right now, to be honest with you.”
Yildirim got the fight with Canelo because he wanted to face him, and he wasn’t being pushy, crying to the WBC to try and force the match to happen. If he had done that, the chances are that Canelo would have ignored him just like he’s doing with Benavidez.
“If he wants to cement his legacy and make big fights happen because he wants to fight for money,” said Benavidez. “He gets paid a lot. So, if he wants to keep getting paid like this, this is the biggest fight to make,” said Benavidez on why Canelo should fight him.
“You owe it to the people if you say you’re the unified champion. Let’s give the people what they want to see, and if they’re so confident of themselves like they say they are, let’s put it to the test,” said Benavidez.
This guy is just too needy, and it’s actually sad to see how desperate Benavidez is for this fight with Canelo. It’s got to be so off-putting to Canelo to observe the behavior of Benavidez, as he’s worked himself up to a state where he’s not seeing things clearly. He just seems obsessed with Canelo, and that has got to be a yucky thing for the Mexican superstar.
“Maybe I’m being optimistic, but I think the fight is going to happen,” said Chris Algieri on his belief that the Canelo vs. Benavidez fight will happen. “It may not happen next, but it’ll be down the line.”
“I definitely think it will happen because he’s got a big ego, too, and I’m sure he wants to prove to the world how good he is,” said Benavidez about Canelo. “I don’t know when that fight will happen, but the good thing is, I’m still young, I’m still hungry, and I’m still training extremely hard.”
If Benavidez knew what time it was, he would move on, go up to cruiserweight, where he belongs, and never mention Canelo’s name for as long as he lives. It’s weird how obsessed Benavidez seems, and he just can’t get it.
There’s NO interest on Canelo’s part in fighting him now, next week or ever. So get the hint, move on, and show some pride.
“My motivation can’t be messed with right now. I’m really focused, dialed in, and I have tunnel vision right now,” said Benavidez.
