Commentator Jim Lampley feels that Canelo Alvarez is frustrated with fans attempting to pressure him to fight David Benavidez.
Canelo (60-2-2, 39 KOs) hasn’t given the fans what they’ve been asking for, perhaps due to the trash-talking that Benavidez and his dad have been doing to try and shame him into giving them the payday they’ve been campaigning for.
Respect and Autonomy
“Now, he hears from his own fans, ‘Just wait until you get in the ring with David Benavidez. He’s got more power than you ever dreamed of having, and he’s going to wipe you out.’ He doesn’t want to hear it. He doesn’t want to be treated with that kind of disrespect, whose respect he feels he’s earned over a long period of time,” said Jim Lampley to Fight Hub TV about Canelo Alvarez.
Benavidez is just the new flavor of the week in terms of the fighters that fans want Canelo to fight, but it’s one that may not happen unless there’s enough money to make it a reality.
The problem with Benavidez is that he’s not taking risks to earn the fight with Canelo and is making it clear that this is just about him wanting a big payday. He’s not willing to fight David Morrell Jr. to earn the fight with Canelo and has chosen to take easier fights against the likes of Demetrius Andrade, David Lemieux, Ronald Ellis, Caleb Plant, and Kyrone Davis.
“He’s been in it a long time. Does he have to keep proving himself over and over again by taking the biggest fights available, or should they pay him to fight whoever he wants to fight because he’s Canelo Alvarez?” said Lampley.
People will continue to press Canelo to fight different fighters until he retires or is completely washed, and that’s the frustrating part. Fans are never satisfied, wanting Canelo to fight everybody, even light heavyweights and cruiserweights like Benavidez.
The Benavidez Question
“It’s not out of the question that debate goes on in the back of his mind. ‘Haven’t I don’t enough? Shouldn’t I have the right to fight who I want? Why are they telling me I have to fight this guy?’ Whatever he thinks about Benavidez, it isn’t enough to make him want to go straight to Benavidez and fight the fight that everybody wants to see,” said Lampley.
It’s got to be frustrating for Canelo to have fans continually insist on him fighting various contenders or champions and question his bravery when he doesn’t immediately do what they’re asking for. Over the years, these are some of the many fighters that fans have pressured Canelo to fight:
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Miguel Cotto
Shane Mosley
Erislandy Lara
Austin Trout
Gennadiy Golovkin
Jermall Charlo
David Benavidez
Demetrius Andrade
