Shane Mosley believes David Benavidez will have too much size and activity for Canelo Alvarez and will win that match-up.
WBC interim super middleweight champion Benavidez is one of the possible opponents for Canelo to fight in 2024 in his two remaining fights on his PBC contract.
Premier Boxing Champions are likely going to insist on Canelo facing Benavidez. If Canelo can insist on a rehydration clause to prevent Benavidez from rehydrating into the 190s, he’s got a chance of winning. But without a rehydration clause, Canelo is going to have a difficult time against a massive 190+ lb Benavidez, who will resemble Jai Opetaia in size.
Ideally, Canelo, 33, would face Jermall Charlo next May and then Benavidez in September, as that would be in-house fights for PBC without them needing to work with outside promotional companies like Top Rank, Golden Boy or Matchroom.
Size and Activity: The Key Factors
Mosley feels that undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo (60-2-2, 39 KOs) won’t be able to hang back, fighting on the ropes as he normally does, because Benavidez will bury him with activity if he fights like that.
Shane isn’t ruling out a possible knockout victory for Canelo if the 26-year-old Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs) if he comes in reckless like he typically does against his smaller opponent. Benavidez doesn’t put too much focus.
Benavidez is so huge for the 168-lb division, which makes it difficult for anyone who is a true super middleweight to beat him because he’s basically a cruiserweight.
Canelo’s Punching Power and Experience
“He’s a beast. Not just when he’s fighting but all the time. He has that mentality, and I love watching fighters like that,” said Shane Mosley to Fighthype about David Benavidez. “It was kind of hard for Boo Boo [Andrade] to do that because it’s not his style.”
Demetrius Andrade looked too small and outgunned against a massive Benavidez last November. You could tell from the opening round that Andrade didn’t have the size or armament to win, as he looked like he was fighting a guy two weight classes bigger than him and he wasn’t going to win unless he could move nonstop.
At 35, Andrade’s legs aren’t what they once were, so he was forced to stand and fight to the bitter finish, which didn’t take long, thankfully for him. If this had been a fight that went into the later rounds, Andrade would have taken a terrible beating.
“He’s not as big as David, but he still fought and gave his all. Canelo is going to be a good fight, too [against Benavidez] because Canelo isn’t going to be able to sit back and just counter-punch. He’s going to have to fight the whole time,” said Mosley.
“It’s going to be a great fight. I’m not saying that he’s going to walk through him like he did Boo Boo, but I’m saying it’s going to be a great fight. I know Canelo can crack, and Canelo has good counter-punches. I’ve been in the ring with him.
‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez is another example of a fighter that competes well below his normal weight and size, and he can do this because of his youth.
Benavidez will likely be fighting at cruiserweight three to five years from now, not because he wants to, but because he can no longer melt down to 168 to compete against smaller opposition. That’ll be interesting to see how Benavidez does against fighters his own size, like Opetaia instead of the smaller fighters that he’s been crushing with his huge frame.
“Canelo is very fast; he has good power and good ring IQ. It’s going to make for a great fight,” said Mosley. “I still think David [Benavidez] might be a little too big for him. He’s too tall, and his arms are too long. That might be a problem. It seemed like it was a problem when Canelo fought Bivol.”
You can’t rule out Canelo nailing Benavidez with one of his powerful counters that he doesn’t see coming, sparking him out as he did Amir Khan.
There was a reason why Gennadiy Golovkin didn’t fight as aggressively against Canelo as he’d done in his other fights: he couldn’t. It was too risky to fight all out against Canelo without running into a shot that he didn’t see coming.
“It was the same thing. The arms being so long, so tall and so rangy,” said Mosley. “He couldn’t get his counters off. David is a little bit taller and longer than Bivol. So it’s going to be a real big problem for Canelo with that type of fight.”
Benavidez is even bigger than WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, hits harder, and throws a lot more punches. If Canelo fights him, he’s going to have to stay in the center of the ring and focus on nailing him with counters because he’s going to be throwing a lot of shots, looking to pile up a wide, judge-proof lead so that he doesn’t wind up in the same boat as Golovkin and Erislandy Lara.
Mosley’s Prediction
“I still feel that’ll be a good fight, and whoever wins because I think David [Benavidez] will probably win,” said Mosley. “Then them two will fight, David and Bivol, and then the other light heavyweight, Beterbiev. I think David has the edge, but I’m not counting Canelo out.”
Picking Benavidez over Canelo is an easy one because he’s a much naturally bigger, younger, and busier fighter. The 5’8″ Canelo started his career at 147, and he’s small for the 168-lb division.
He’s not someone that is going to rehydrate a massive amount of weight like Benavidez, so he’s going to be up against it if this fight takes place.
It’s going to be tougher for Benavidez to defeat Artur Beterbiev or Bivol because those guys are closer to his weight. They’re still smaller than him, but it’s not as dramatic as the super middleweights that he’s been crushing with size.
Beterbiev is turning 39 soon, and it’s unlikely that he’ll still be around if Benavidez stays at 168 for another three to four years.
“I know Canelo could do something. He has the power to knock out David,” said Mosley. “If David comes in a little reckless, and Canelo hits him with one of his trick left hooks or right hands or something. Anything can happen. It’s a great fight.
“I give the edge to David because he’s so much more taller, rangier, and he’s never going to let you fight your fight,” said Mosley.
