Jose Benavidez Sr. is upset with Canelo Alvarez for not fighting his son, David Benavidez, and focusing on fighting smaller fighters.
WBC super middleweight champion Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) is fighting Demetrius Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs) this Saturday, November 25th, on Showtime PPV. However, to listen to Benavidez & his dad, Jose Sr. talk, you’d think he’s facing Canelo this weekend.
Obviously, it wouldn’t be a big deal if Benavidez and Jose Sr. didn’t have their sense of entitlement, believing that Canelo must go in their direction to bless them, even though David has never fought anyone particularly good.
Jose Sr’s comment about Canelo fighting smaller guys seems hypocritical because David Benavidez, a huge fighter for the 168-lb division, has been fighting smaller guys his entire ten-year professional career.
If you’ve seen how thin & emaciated Benavidez looked this week, it’s obvious that this guy should be fighting at 175 or 200 but is gaming the system by melting down to 168 to fight smaller opposition. He can still get away with it now, but he’s taking a risk of kidney problems due to dehydration.
Benavidez Sr. has brought Canelo into the discussion during almost every interview he’s done during the promoter for WBC interim super middleweight champion Benavidez’s fight this Saturday night against Demetrius Andrade on November 25th on Showtime PPV.
Canelo has been a useful tool for the promoter of the Benavidez-Andrade fight, as Team Benavidez has mentioned him frequently, making it seem like he would be forced into fighting David next by the fans and sanctioning body.
Without being able to use Canelo as a topic, Benavidez has had very little to say other than bragging about himself, which is boring to listen to.
He never admits that he could lose, and he does a poor job explaining his rationale for choosing to fight the 35-year-old Demetrius Andrade rather than another fighter like Dmitry Bivol or David Morrell.
Jose Sr critical of Canelo not fighting Benavidez
“Demetrius Andrade is a special fighter. He was a two-time Olympian and two-time world champion in two divisions,” said Jose Benavidez Sr. to Boxing News talking about David Benavidez’s fight this Saturday night.
“I don’t know. It’s two different styles. He thinks he has the blueprint to beat David, and I think we have the blueprint to beat Boo Boo. We’ll know on November 25th, and we’ll have to adjust to whatever he brings to the table. We’re super excited, we’re ready, and we can’t wait until November 25th.
It’s pretty obvious how to beat Benavidez because Ronald Gavril & Caleb Plant did a pretty good job, coming close to beating him with jabbing & moving. If Plant didn’t face last March, he would have beaten Benavidez.
Being a light heavyweight in size has its drawbacks, as it means that Benavidez won’t be able to move around the ring like a super middleweight because he’s big for the division.
Also, being drained leaves Benavidez with less energy than he would have if he were fighting in the 175-lb weight class, where he’d be stronger.
“I’m just so tired of talking about Canelo Alvarez. He’s fighting little guys. I got a 118,” said Jose Sr. “Maybe we can talk about that guy going up to 168. If he wants to fight 118, we can definitely make that fight.”
If Benavidez Sr. is truly tired of talking about Canelo, he should stop bringing him up all the time because he’s the one driving the topic into the earth by constantly complaining about wanting him to face David, and it makes them look desperate.
“I don’t think Canelo wants to fight David Benavidez. He’s trying to look for any advantage that he can. We saw him fight a 154 Charlo. Look what happened,” said Jose Sr.
“We’re trying to make our own history and make our own path. We’re trying to stay busy. I want to thank Al Haymon for all the opportunities that he’s been giving us, and we’re just going to stay ready and stay busy,” said Jose Sr.
Canelo probably would have fought Benavidez a long time ago if he & Jose hadn’t complained so much and if he fought better opposition. It’s hard for Canelo to take Benavidez seriously when these are the best guys he’s fought:
Ronald Ellis
David Lemieux
Caleb Plant
Ronald Gavril
Roamer Alexis Angulo
Anthony Dirrell
If Benavidez had fought Morrell, Dmitry Bivol, and Artur Beterbiev years ago, Canelo would have given him a shot. He hasn’t done that, though, so Canelo has ignored him, viewing him as another one of the many contenders fighting poor opposition and wanting to fight him for payday purposes.
Benavidez will move up to 175 if no big fights at 168
“Like I said, if there’s nothing at 168, we’ll definitely go to 175,” said Benavidez Sr. about his son, David. “We’ll campaign there at 175 and at 168, not a problem. Maybe whoever wins out of that fight, we can get that fight,” said Benavidez Sr. about wanting to match David against the winner of the January 13th clash between Artur Beterbiev & Callum Smith.
If Benavidez doesn’t get the Canelo fight next May, he should face David Morrell, and if he doesn’t want to fight him, then he should move up to 175.
“He’s [Andrade] undefeated. Nobody wants to fight him. Everybody ran from him,” said Jose Sr. “When they gave us the name, right away. I know it’s a tough fight, but these are the fights that we need in order to go to the next level and prove to everybody that David is ready to be the best at 168.”
The 35-year-old southpaw Andrade isn’t popular and doesn’t have a fan-friendly style of fighting. Benavidez didn’t have to face him, yet he did anyway, selecting him rather than Morrell or Bivol.
“I don’t think a victory will do anything to him. I don’t think he’ll get the credit for fighting a great fighter, but we’re going to continue,” said Benavidez Sr. about David’s unlikely to receive credit for beating Andrade.
If Jose Sr. wanted Benavidez to receive credit from the fans for a victory, he should have fought one of these fighters:
- David Morrell
- Dmitry Bivol
- Jai Opetaia
- Artur Beterbiev
- Chris Billam-Smith
- Richard Riakporhe
“We’re working hard, and we’ll fight anybody. Everybody that wants to fight, we don’t run from nobody and see what happens,” said Jose Sr. “Let’s see what happens at 168. If nothing happens at 168, we’re thinking about fighting [Dmitry] Bivol.
“That’s another fight that we want to get because he beat Canelo, and he beat Zurdo Ramirez. If that doesn’t happen, we’ll probably go with Beterbiev.”
It’s going to take more than name-dropping light heavyweight champions Dmitry Bivol & Artur Beterbiev for boxing fans to take Benavidez seriously about indenting on fighting those guys because thus far, he’s been playing it safe, talking about wanting to fight them, but instead, choosing Andrade, Caleb Plant, David Lemieux, and Kyrone Davis.
“Those are the monsters in that division, and those are the people that we want to face,” said Benavidez Sr. about wanting ‘The Mexican Monster’ David to move up to 175 if they can’t get the fights they want at super middleweight.
If Jose Sr. truly wants Bivol & Beterbiev for Benavidez to fight, they need to show fans they’re for real by fighting one of those guys next rather than choosing to face another contender at 168.
