One man consistently pursued the fight, while the other showed a complete lack of interest, and as a result, the WBC light heavyweight world champion, David Benavidez, went on record a second time publicly stating Canelo Alvarez is scared of him.
At the age of 22, David Benavidez was a two-time WBC super-middleweight world champion. Unfortunately for Benavidez, he was stripped of his title on two separate occasions due to undisciplinary actions.
David Benavidez would go on and rededicate himself to the sport of boxing. On May 21, 2022, Benavidez stopped David Lemieux in the third round and won the vacant WBC interim super-middleweight title.
With the victory, Benavidez picked up a strap, and he also earned the position of being Canelo Alvarez’s mandatory challenger. Benavidez was the top contender, but Canelo refused to acknowledge the fact that Benavidez deserved a shot at the undisputed crown.
To make a stronger case for himself, Benavidez agreed to fight Caleb Plant in a world title eliminator bout. After Benavidez defeated Plant, WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman didn’t order the Canelo vs Benavidez bout.
Instead of doing what was fair, Sulaiman tried to protect Canelo by placing David Benavidez in another world title eliminator. Benavidez stopped Demetrius Andrade in the sixth round, but unfortunately for Benavidez, Mauricio Sulaiman failed to order the Canelo Alvarez vs David Benavidez fight.
After Canelo defeated Jaime Munguia, sports commentator Jim Gray asked Canelo the David Benavidez question. Once again, Canelo looked frustrated as he avoided giving Gray a definitive answer.
On the other hand, when asked about Canelo’s lack of commitment regarding fighting him next, David Benavidez didn’t hold back as he proceeded to use the “S” word.
“I think he’s getting put into a corner now where he’s running out of excuses. He said the only thing I bring is 25 extra pounds, and I’m not worth nothing, but he’s asking for $200 million.” Benavidez went on to say, “For me, it looks like fear. It looks like he’s scared of me.”
While Benavidez was chasing Canelo, the then WBA super-middleweight interim champion, David Morrell, was constantly calling out Benavidez. Unlike Canelo, David Benavidez stepped up to the plate and accepted the challenge.
Due to the fact that Canelo was ducking his two mandatories, both David Benavidez and David Morrell moved up to light-heavyweight. Back in February 2025, Benavidez defeated Morrell via unanimous decision and won the WBC interim light-heavyweight title.
Two months later, David Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) was elevated from interim belt holder to WBC light-heavyweight world champion. Benavidez has established himself in a new division, but the media still asks him the Canelo Alvarez question.
Recently, David Benavidez was a guest on the show ‘Inside The Ring.’ Once again, he was asked the Canelo question, and Benavidez went on to double down on the “S” word.
“The way he handled my presence at 168 pounds, he’s definitely scared of me. I was talking so much trash in front of him. Why didn’t he make an example out of me in front of the entire world?” Benavidez asked.
When it comes to a potential fight with David Benavidez, it became clear that Canelo Alvarez didn’t want to deal with Benavidez’s size, hand speed, power, and work rate. Canelo also didn’t want to take a chance on losing to a boxer of Mexican descent.
The 28-year-old David Benavidez says he has no plans on returning to 168 because he feels comfortable at 175. With that being said, it seems like the Canelo vs David Benavidez mega fight is a thing of the past.
However, Benavidez gave the mega fight a lifeline by saying that if Canelo moved up, he’s willing to give Canelo a shot at his title. With that being said, the question is, will Canelo step up and accept the offer? Judging by his past energy towards facing Benavidez, the answer is a resounding no.