David Benavidez says if Canelo Alvarez doesn’t retire, he needs to fight him, Artur Beterbiev, or Dmitry Bivol. He states that there are no other notable fighters for Canelo (63-3-2, 39 KOs) to fight at 168.
Benavidez points out that no one was asking for Canelo, 35, to fight Terence Crawford in their ‘Fight of the Century’ bout on September 13, 2025. They wanted to see Canelo fight these fighters:
- David Benavidez
- Artur Beterbiev
- Dmitry Bivol
Canelo’s 168 Options Dry Up
‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez says that the only guys remaining at super middleweight are fighters like Christian Mbilli, Jaime Munguia, and Diego Pacheco. Those aren’t big fights for Canelo.
Benavidez didn’t mention Osleys Iglesias, who might be the best in the 168-lb division, or a rematch with Crawford. Canelo would likely lose far worse against Iglesias because he’s a true super middleweight with power. It would be a nightmare for Canelo.
A second fight between Canelo and the Nebraska native Crawford would interest fans who enjoy chess matches with little action. However, it’s unknown whether Turki Alalshikh would want to invest a massive amount of money into a rematch after how boring their fight was last September. It was so awful to watch.
Crawford would likely want a raise from the $50 million he made last time, and Canelo might want his purse bumped up as well. Both fighters’ performances were on the level of boxers that are made in the thousands, not millions.
No One Asked for Crawford
“Everybody always says I’m hating on Canelo. But if he doesn’t retire, he needs to fight the fights that people want to see him fight,” said David Benavidez to Fight Hub TV. “Nobody wanted to see him fight Crawford.”
Turki Alalshikh was the one who wanted the Canelo vs. Crawford fight. That was his fight, and boy was it bad. The undercard fights were better. Fans weren’t asking for Canelo to defend against Crawford. What made Turki’s decision even worse is that he spent so much money using 38-year-old Crawford, who is near retirement, rather than a younger fighter like Benavidez to be the one who fought Canelo.
Turki Backed the Wrong Horse
Why pour money into a fighter at the end of his career, who the fans didn’t want to see in the first place? It was a bad decision all around. Turki should have used Benavidez, because he’ll be fighting for another 10 years at least.
“No disrespect to Crawford, but people wanted to see him [Canelo] fight Bivol again. People wanted to see him fight me,” said Benavidez about Canelo. “So if he’s not going to retire. What fights is he going to get? What fights are left for him at 168? Munguia, Mbilli, and Pacheco? There are no fights for him.”
Benavidez is off about fans wanting to see Canelo fight Bivol again. There’s no high demand by Americans to see Canelo vs. Bivol again. That would be a dull fight as well, because Bivol has a defensive style, and he’s boring to watch. Besides, he beat Canelo soundly by a 12-round unanimous decision on May 7, 2022, by the scores 115-113, 115-113, and 115-113.
The Beterbiev/Bivol Demand
“If he comes back, he has to fight one of us. He has to fight Beterbiev, Bivol, or me,” said Benavidez about Canelo.
