David Benavidez is convinced that Canelo Alvarez will be forced by public pressure to face him next after he defeats Demetrius Andrade this Saturday night, November 25th, on Showtime PPV.
Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) doesn’t even entertain the possibility that he could lose to the former two-division world champion Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs) in their headliner. It’s the kind of confidence that we’ve seen in the past from military commanders who led their troops into disaster.
If Benavidez were a general, he’d be a George McClellan type, making him pure trouble for his troops. That confidence that Benavidez has, seemingly unaware of his own limitations, suggests that he’s heading for bitter defeat.
Unfortunately for Benavidez, he might lose on Saturday night because he’s facing a far better boxer than him and one with superior experience and athleticism.
Andrade is a superior athlete and has a better ring IQ. You hate to say it, but Benavidez is a guy who just gets over being bigger than his opponents and lacks power & mobility.
The confidence that Benavidez has bordered on someone who is foolhardy and incapable of contemplating that he could fail. One big reason Benavdidez’s ego is warped is the opposition he’s been fed.
He’s fought so many lesser guys like David Lemieux, Ronald Ellis, and Caleb Plant that’s put ideas into his head, thinking he can beat anybody and that the Canelo fight is assured.
Benavidez believes Canelo fight will happen after Andrade
“I’ve been here for a long, long time. I’m at the doorsteps to something great. So, we’re going to ride it out for a little bit more, and then we’re going to go up to 175,” said David Benavidez to the media today at the final press conference.
What’s Benavidez blabbering about with the greatness talk? What an ego. If he gets his wish and fights Canelo, he’ll likely lose, and there’s nothing great about that.
The way Benavidez is talking, he doesn’t sound like he’s got his feet on the ground. Even if he wins on Saturday, he’s still probably not going to get the Canelo fight, and he’ll be stuck having to decide whether to put his career at risk by accepting the challenge from ultra-talented David Morrell Jr or play it safe against a non-threat.
“I never thought about that, but they’re not going to get the fight because I’m going to be the first to get the fight,” said Benavidez, reacting to being told that other fighters in Saturday’s card, Demetrius Andrade & Jermall Charlo, have a chance of being Canelo Alvarez’s opponent next May.
“I’ve worked extremely hard, and I’m going to prove it with a victory on Saturday. There’s going to be no other direction for Canelo to go because after what I do to Demetrius Andrade on Saturday, people are going to go. That’s the only fight that they want to see.
“We can definitely get a fight in with Morrell. That’s a great fight, too. Probably after Demetrius, Canelo, and Morrell, those are the only people I’m interested in at this point,” said Benavidez.
It would be very surprising if Benavidez were to fight Morrell next, as he could have already fought him but chose not to. Would he really be willing to put his dream fight against Canelo at risk by taking on the talented Cuban Morrell?
This writer doesn’t see that happening in a million years, but Benavidez had to say something when an interviewer asked point-blank if he’d be open to fighting Morrell. What would you expect Benavidez to say when asked that question?
Of course, he’d say he’ll fight Morrell because if he rejected the idea, the fans would know that he wants no part of him because he’s afraid of losing.
“I told you guys that I not only wanted to prove to the world, but to myself that I’m the best,” said Benavidez. “That’s what I mean by doing that by going up against these great fighters and beating them.
“I’ve been around this type of stuff since I was a kid. I used to spar great world champions and get the better of them when I was 14 and 15 years old. I know I have greatness in there. I need someone to take it out.
“I need to go in there and have an opportunity to show the world what I can do. I don’t think one fight is going to make me a superstar. I think beating everybody and I think that taking over the division is going to make me a superstar, and that’s something I want to accomplish.
“I don’t want to send no send a message to him. I feel that whenever that fight happens, it’s going to happen,” said Benavidez about Canelo. “I’m not going to go nowhere, I’m going to continue to beat all the fighters in front of me, and that fight [with Canelo] is definitely going to be made.
“I feel like they know what’s going to happen with two quality Mexican fighters in the ring. You get the best of the best, and you definitely get a war. I think people in boxing want to see the best fight the best in every weight division,” said Benavidez.
“I’m the best at super middleweight, the one that is challenging Canelo. So, I feel after this victory, there’s not going to be no questions; that’s the fight that needs to be made,” said Benavidez.
David confident of victory over Andrade
“It throws me off a little. I’ve never been around someone with his type of energy. He’s a funny guy,” said Benavidez about Demetrius Andrade. “It’s not going to change anything. In the ring, I’m going to try and beat the s*** out of him. None of that changes.”
Andrade is going to be trying to beat the stuffing out of Benavidez and giving him a boxing lesson he won’t soon forget on Saturday night.
Obviously, it’s going to be quite a setback for Benavidez and his dad Jose Sr if he loses this fight. Hopefully, they don’t collectively muddy the water if he loses by a decision, and starts complaining about being robbed.
It would be better for the sake of boxing if the loser of the Andrade-Benavidez fight on Saturday night takes a stoic approach, and keeps a stiff upper lip without crying about the loss and talking about being robbed.
“We can be cool, have a good time. I can shake his hand, and there’s no problems,” said Benavidez.
“Don’t do that to me. I didn’t even think about that,” said Benavidez when told that his fight with Canelo will never happen now that Showtime won’t be putting on boxing events after 2023 and that there won’t be a home for PBC.
“I feel like people want to see the best against the best, especially this fight is very lucrative with me and Canelo. Not only that. It’s going to go down in boxing history as one of the best fights ever.
“I don’t see it as being in danger. I think it’s going to take a little bit more time now that we step back and see what’s happening with all the boxing with PBC and all that stuff, but I have faith that we’ll figure it out.
“I just got to keep doing my job like I’ve been doing, and the opportunity will come,” said Benavidez.
