Canelo Alvarez and Premier Boxing Champion (PBC] reportedly parted ways due to an impasse over Canelo’s next two fights on his three-fight deal with the company.
Dan Rafael says on his site PBC wouldn’t guarantee Canelo’s purse request for the Jermall Charlo fight on May 4th without him agreeing to face David Benavidez next, which would be the third fight of his contract.
The Benavidez Barrier
Benavidez’s name wasn’t one of three fighters that Canelo’s original three-fight agreement was with PBC. If Benavidez’s name wasn’t one of the three fighters originally agreed upon for Canelo with PBC, one can understand why he wouldn’t be happy that the company is suddenly inserting him into the equation for his third fight.
It’s unclear who the final name was that Canelo wanted for his September fight, but it could have been Jaime Munguia. If not him, Edgar Berlanga.
Unless the guaranteed purse that PBC offered for Canelo to fight Benavidez was massive, it’s understandable why he would balk at agreeing to fight him in September.
A $35 million guarantee or even $55 million would be a small amount for Canelo to take this fight, given what he could potentially get from the Saudis to face Benavidez in their country if they are interested in this fight.
The Aftermath
Undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo leaving PBC doesn’t mean a fight between him and Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs) will never happen. That fight can take place in the future, but it will need an investor willing to put up a huge amount of money to make it worthwhile for both fighters, not just Canelo.
Again, the Saudis would be ideal for making the Canelo-Benavidez fight a reality in 2024 or 2025. They’ve got the money to make this fight happen, and it would eclipse the heavyweight fights they’re currently putting on between the aging fighters, Anthony Joshua, Francis Ngannou, Tyson Fury, and Oleksandr Usyk.
Those guys are old and don’t resonate with American boxing fans like Canelo and Benavidez do. The Saudis are missing the mark by focusing on the sport’s heavyweights rather than the Canelo-Benavidez, lightweights, and light welterweight classes.
The heavyweights are no longer a popular weight class for Americans, mostly due to the poor representatives at the top.