The WBC has confirmed during their convention that the winner of the November contest between interim 168-lb champion David Benavidez & Demetrius Andrade will be the next mandatory for Canelo Alvarez.
Benavidez has already been the WBC mandatory for a couple of years to Canelo’s belt, so it’s pointless for them to be reminding people what was already established.
This is a symbolic gesture by the WBC because if they try to force Canelo’s hand, he’ll vacate their belt so quickly that it’ll make their heads spin.
Nothing changes with the WBC’s confirmation of the Benavidez-Andrade winner being mandatory for Canelo, as that was already well established.
Moreover, the WBC will not be able to force the superstar Canelo to face the winner because he’s expected to take on Jaime Munguia next in May on the Cinco de Mayo holiday weekend in 2024.
It’ll be up to Canelo whether he wants to face the winner of the Benavidez vs. Andrade fight in the second half of next year.
Given all the money that Canelo’s being paid as part of his lucrative $100 million+ three-fight contract with PBC, he might agree to fight the winner because that’s what they’re hoping.
A fight between Canelo & ‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) would make a ton of money for PBC, generating huge interest worldwide, especially in the U.S.
If Canelo doesn’t fight the Benavidez-Andrade winner, he’s got plenty of interesting options available to him, one of them being a rematch with WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol.
Canelo lost to Bivol by a decision in 2022 and has taken heaps of flake from the boxing world for choosing not to try and avenge the loss.
Fighting Bivol again would give Canelo an excuse not to face Benavidez or Andrade, and he wouldn’t look nearly as bad because neither of those guys would do well against the unbeaten WBA 175-lb champion.
Although Benavidez has bragged about having success with Bivol during sparring many years ago, few would give him any chance of defeating the talented Russian fighter, especially after how he looked in his recent fight with Caleb Plant.
It would be a good idea for Benavidez and his dad Jose Sr. stop talking 24/7 about how they want to fight Canelo next because that’s a serious put-off for the famous star.
The neediness that the Benavidez clan is showing towards wanting the fight with Canelo makes them look desperate and unable to create their path.
With someone like Canelo, who worked hard to become a star, it’s got to be a turnoff to hear the constant drone by Benavidez & Jose Sr, which sounds almost like begging.
