Jose Benavidez Sr., father and trainer of David Benavidez, reveals that the camp for Canelo Alvarez contacted his promoter Sampson Lewkowicz and was interested in putting a fight together if they were willing to take the bare minimum of $5 million.
Benavidez Sr. says he agreed to the deal, but then Canelo disappeared. He wasn’t sure if the negotiation attempt by Canelo’s team was just to test him by seeing if he would ask for money, which would allow them to say they offered a deal, but he wanted more.
With Canelo and his team, they may have had someone else in mind for the fight. If they disappeared, it was for good reason. We don’t know what went on with Jose Sr. and Lewkowicz with their communication with Canelo. Something may have made Canelo cancel the idea of fighting Benavidez.
“We Just Want the Opportunity”
“I got a call from Sampson [Lewkowicz], and he said the camp for Canelo Alvarez wanted to take the fight [with David Benavidez], but the only way they would take the fight is if we would take the minimum, and I said. I said, ‘Sure, no problem. We just want the opportunity to fight,'” said Jose Benavidez Sr. to Thaboxingvoice about Team Canelo contacting him about a fight with David Benavidez.
“Either way, if we get to this fight, things are going to get better anyway. It doesn’t matter if we lose or win. We’re willing to take the opportunity. We said yes to it, and then Munguia and Canelo disappeared.
Was Team Canelo just testing the resolve of Benavidez with their brief negotiations? It’s impossible to say for sure. It’s more likely that Canelo had different fighters he was negotiating with at the same time, and someone else was the better deal for him.
Benavidez Sees Bigger Paydays Regardless
“I think they just wanted to test us to see if I was going to ask for more money. Then they could say they did offer us, but we wanted more money. We were willing to take the minimum. David right now makes more money fighting other people than fighting Canelo Alvarez,” said Jose Sr.
“I think everybody starts at 5.5 [million as a Canelo opponent], and plus they give PPV buys and all that. I wanted him [Canelo] to take all the money he could. He deserves it. He’s the face of boxing and the best at 168. He has all the belts, and he deserves to take everything.
“We just wanted the opportunity to step in there and give the fans what they want. A good fight,” said Jose Sr.
