David Benavidez’s fans are furious with the report that undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez is expected to fight Jermall Charlo next on May 4 and welterweight Terence Crawford in September.
Benavidez’s fans feel he’s been cheated by being excluded from his title shot against the superstar Canelo (60-2-2, 39 KOs) in 2024.
Canelo is focusing on business, choosing the proven commodity, Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) for September, as he’s coming off a massive PPV fight against Errol Spence last July on Showtime.
In comparison, Benavidez’s recent attempts at PPV bombed badly in his clash against Demetrius Andrade last November, reportedly hitting only 70,000 buys. Those numbers are horrid, showing that Benavidez is NOT a PPV draw.
Benavidez: The Heir Apparent Scorned?
They’re angry about Benavidez, who they feel is the rightful heir to King Canelo’s throne, being excluded by him for a fight this year on Amazon Prime PPV.
Benavidez fans view him as the successor to King Canelo’s throne, even though he’s never beaten anyone to be considered worthy of being the next royal subject to be crowned. Canelo can’t grant Benavidez a boon if he’s not willing to earn the spot by taking on David Morrell.
The unbeaten Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs) is Canelo’s WBC mandatory, and his followers wanted to see him get a shot at Alvarez this year, but it’s not going to happen, according to Salvador Rodriguez of ESPN.
“Everything looks like it would be Charlo-Crawford for Canelo in 2024, in that order. If not Canelo-Benavidez, the next best fight at 168 pounds is Benavidez-Morrell,” said Salvador on X, talking about Canelo’s two likely choices for 2024, which don’t include Benavidez.
Morrell, the Alternative Path
As Salvador points out, Benavidez can always fight David Morrell Jr. for his WBA ‘regular’ super middleweight title.
It’s not the end of the world for Benavidez and his fans just because Canelo won’t bless him with the payday & title shot that he’s been pining away for all these years.
Fans believe that Benavidez is afraid of the talented Cuban Morrell, and that’s why he’s chosen not to fight him. If Benavidez is feeling courageous, he can always challenge Morrell to a fight if he can make weight without passing out, and if he defeats him, Canelo will grant him the fight that he’s been begging for.