David Benavidez says he has no reason to leave PBC for a fight against Canelo Alvarez on DAZN. He states that PBC and Al Haymon have been good to him, and even if he left, he would only be offered a one-fight deal. He’s happy where he’s at.
Given Benavidez’s stance about not leaving PBC, that ends any chance of him fighting Canelo unless the company goes out of business, which is possible. He can stay with PBC until the bitter end.
At this point, Benavidez should stop harping about Canelo not fighting him, as he’s decided to stay at PBC and will have to be satisfied with the opponents they select for him. For David to continue to talk about Canelo, he doesn’t seem to understand that he’s the reason the fight isn’t happening.
Benavidez says Canelo would have gotten $60 million plus upside to fight him with PBC, and he says it would be the same thing over at DAZN. David doesn’t say where he got the $60M figure that he brings up, as the $55 million that his promoter Sampson Lewkowicz reportedly brought up was never verified to be real. It sounds like Benavidez is just parroting stuff he’s heard without knowing the facts.
Benavidez isn’t considering that PBC reportedly wanted to change Canelo’s deal instruction with them for his final two fights and wouldn’t do that.
“They’ve Taken Care of Me”
“People have kept criticizing me, saying I only want a payday. I’ve been making good money for seven years, really good money,” said David Benavidez to Thaboxingvoice, reacting to boxing fans saying he’s been begging Canelo Alvarez for a fight because he’s desperate for a payday.
“PBC and Al Haymon have taken care of me. So, what they were offering Canelo was close to $60 million. That was before PPV buys,” Benavidez continued. “After PPV buys, it was going to be a killing.”
Benavidez hasn’t had big fights during his 11-year pro career, so you have to wonder how well PBC is taking care of him. His biggest fights have come against Caleb Plant, David Lemieux, and Demetrius Andrade. Where are the mega-fights?
“I wasn’t going to be getting nothing. I was getting no percentage,” said Benavidez. “I was getting a fee of $5 million. I pay out all my people, and I’m left with $3.5 [million] before taxes. So, I was fine with that. I was completely fine with that. This guy was taking everything.
The $60 Million Question
“He was literally taking everything. I’m not saying he shouldn’t. He’s entitled to it. I don’t care. I want the opportunity,” said Benavidez. “So, if they’re going him [Canelo] $60 million over here [Premier Boxing Champions], what could they possibly give him over here [DAZN]? It’s the same thing. So, why would I go across the street when I’ve been getting treated really good with PBC and Al Haymon.
“Why would I go across the street when they would probably only give me a one-fight deal, and it would be all in favor of Canelo? It’s really the same thing. It doesn’t have anything to do with promotions, pay or none of that. Canelo doesn’t want to fight. It’s crazy that you guys can’t see that. Some of the fans don’t see that. He doesn’t want to fight,” said Benavidez about Canelo.
It’s not the end of the world for Benavidez just because he may never get the Canelo fight he’s been pushing for. He can still carve out a good career at 175 and 200, fighting Artur Beterbiev, Dmitry Bivol, and Jai Opetaia. He’s going to have to fight those guys soon, though, because some of them are getting old, and Opetaia could move up to heavyweight in search of bigger things.
