Eddie Heaarn says Canelo Alvarez should fight David Benavidez next in May because that’s the fight that is good for the sport and the one that people want to see the most.
That said, Hearn believes Canelo (60-2-2, 39 KOs) won’t fight Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs) until September 2024. Instead, he could face Jaime Munguia in May, provided he wins his January 27th match against John Ryder.
Unfortunately for fans, Benavidez might not get the fight with Canelo at all, because he’s been hounding him too much, him and his dad, and he may not want to give him the payday. If Canelo does face Benavidez, other fighters will follow the same high-pressure tactics that he used to get the chance to fight.
Hearn thinks both Charlo won’t get the fight against Canelo, which some fans would be surprised about. Jermall (33-0, 22 KOs) looked good in his recent return to the ring on November 25th, beating Jose Benavidez Jr. by a one-sided ten round unanimous decision.
Jermall doesn’t have a fight scheduled in early 2024 that would rule him out for a chance to face the Mexican star Canelo, which makes him ideal.
Benavidez: The Fan Favorite
“Benavidez is the fight for the sport, but I think that’s more likely to happen in the second fight [September] in 2024,” said Eddie Hearn to Fight Hub TV when asked who Canelo Alvarez should fight next in May.
If Canelo doesn’t fight Benavidez in May, ‘The Mexican Monster’ should take a risky fight early next year to show that he’s not just looking for a payday off the back of beating older guys like the ones he’s been fighting over the last couple of years.
Benavidez would increase his popularity and improve his chances for a fight against Canelo if he were to face two or more of these fighters in 2024:
- Jaime Opetaia
- Dmitry Bivol
- David Morrell Jr
- Artur Beterbiev
“I think the Charlo fight is dead, and the second fight with the brother [Jermall fighting Canelo] is also dead,” said Hearn.”[Jaime] Munguia, if he beats [John] Ryder [on January 27th], which I don’t think is going to happen. That could be a fight that he [Canelo] might be interested in.”
Munguia is as bad as it gets for a Canelo opponent because he’s not well-liked by hardcore boxing fans in the U.S., and the casual fans have no idea who he is. That’s basically a John Ryder type of fight for Canelo in terms of notoriety. Ryder wasn’t well known in the U.S, and the fans that didn’t know him weren’t impressed.
“I don’t know. He’s been through a lot of guys, but Benavidez is the fight that fight fans want. Yeah, maybe. I think that’s a big jump for Terence Crawford, but he’s a great talent,” said Hearn when asked if Terence Crawford would be a good option for Canelo to fight in May.
Fans want the Canelo-Benavidez fight, but it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. Canelo has reasons why he doesn’t wish to fight Benavidez, and some of it could have to do with the complaining he’s done the campaigning, and the massive size. He’s another example of a fighter who melts down a lot of weight to campaign in a weight class below his frame size.
He’s roughly the same age as Devin Haney, who also drains down to fight in weight classes below his size. When you’re that young, you lose a lot of weight, and then quickly put it back on and enjoy a massive size advantage.
“I don’t think Bud fights Canelo. I don’t think that’s the plan that was put in place when Canelo signed his deal with PBC,” said Shawn Porter to Fighthype about his belief that Terence Crawford isn’t one of the two remaining fights that Canelo Alvarez has with Premier Boxing Champions in 2024.
“I think Bud has one of the best shots at beating Canelo between 147 and 160. I think Bud has the best shot out of anybody out there. Of course, if you’re talking about 168. You’re talking about somebody Canelo can’t beat, which is David Benavidez.”
Canelo isn’t going to agree to come down to 160 to fight Terence Crawford, so Porter needs to get that crazy idea out of his head. He already said he won’t won’t do it, and he won’t not going to do a catchweight either.
Will we ever see Canelo vs. Benavidez?
“Outside of that, I don’t think there’s too many guys out there that can beat Canelo outside of Benavidez at 168 and Bud if that fight were to happen at 160,” said Porter.
“That’s what a mandatory clause is. A mandatory makes it so you can’t look in any other direction, but we know money can always move a mandatory. If it were me and the plan was for me to fight someone else, then the people who work for me would make sure that would happen,” said Porter.
Sanctioning bodies can’t force Canelo to defend against anybody, and that’s another wacky idea that Porter has. If any of them tried to force Canelo to face Benavidez, he’d vacate. That’s why it’s difficult to understand what Benavidez is talking about when he expresses hope that the WBC will force Canelo to defend against him. He doesn’t know what’s going on.
“I don’t think we’ll ever be in a position where a sanctioning body is going to literally demand a fight. They’re not going to demand Canelo get in the ring with Benavidez, and I don’t think Canelo gets in the ring with Benavidez,” said Porter.
“I could be wrong, but I don’t think we’ll ever see that fight. Not at 168,” said Porter when asked if he believes that we’ll ever see someone that can beat Benavidez. “Not at 168,” on whether WBA ‘regular’ super middleweight champion David Morrell could beat Benavidez.”
Porter is giving Benavidez too much credit by saying there’s nobody at 168 that can beat him. David Morrell would be a real problem for Benavidez, but I wouldn’t expect Porter to know that. Morrell would be a major problem for Benavidez, and ruin whatever chances he has of getting a fight against Canelo.
