Stephen A. Smith wants Canelo Alvarez to stop ducking David Benavidez and fight him next after his May 4th defense against Jaime Munguia.
Smith doesn’t believe that the undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo (60-2-2, 39 KOs) is serious when he says Benavidez is “nothing.”
Canelo means that Benavidez doesn’t bring a lot more money than he would get fighting anyone else and that he only brings an extra 25 lbs of weight.
The U.S. promoters aren’t going to offer Canelo much more than what they would for him to fight Munguia, and the Saudis don’t appear to be interested in shelling out the $150-200 million that he’s asking for.
“He’s Nothing? You Know Better”
“Canelo Alvarez, it’s very clear that you are ducking David Benavidez, not because you won’t fight him but for the words you’re using. He’s nothing?” said Stephen A. Smith on his YouTube channel.
It could be a combination of factors that has made Canelo reluctant to fight Benavidez. These are likely some of them:
- Nonstop hounding
- Cruiserweight size
- Trash talking
- Financially, it is not worth the risk
“He’s nothing? You know better. Fight that man. That is the fight we want to see with you. We don’t want to see a fourth fight with GGG. We don’t want to see you fight another one of the Charlos,” Stephen A. continued about Canelo.
Benavidez Deserves Fight
“We don’t want to see Terence Crawford moving up three weight classes to fight you,” said Smith. “We want you to fight right where you are against that dude in your weight division who has been begging for a shot at the crown. David Benavidez deserves that.”
Thus far, Canelo hasn’t indicated that he intends on fighting the welterweight Crawford, so he doesn’t apply to this conversation. Canelo has repeatedly said that he’s not interested in fighting Crawford, so we must take him to his word.
“Anybody that respects boxing knows that he should be the one in the ring going up against you. Handle your business. This is part of it. Fight that man. Everybody wants to see you against David Benavidez. Don’t do that to us,” said Stephen A.
Smith wants Canelo to step up to the plate and give fans the fight they want to see against the 27-year-old ‘Mexican Monster’ Benavidez, even if it means potentially taking a humiliating loss. Smith views it as a thing that Canelo should do for the sport and Benavidez if not for himself.
