Former two-time super middleweight champion David Benavidez is clamoring to reclaim the crown that current undisputed king Canelo Alvarez now owns.
Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) lost his WBC title twice for infractions outside of the ring, one due to a drug suspension in 2018, the other for missing weight in 2020, but the 26-year-old now insists that he’s a reinvented and focused fighter ahead of his Nov. 25 fight against Demetrius Andrade in Las Vegas on Showtime pay per view.
“I wanted to make my own lane. I didn’t want to be a fighter waiting for a paycheck and a fight with Canelo,” Benavidez told BoxingScene.com in an interview. “If Canelo is not going to fight me right now, I am going to go on my own lane and fight the best at 168 pounds, and that’s exactly what we are doing.
“To be honest, I think he wants to get the easier fights out of the way. I can’t really knock him for it. He’s been working really hard his whole life. He’s a legend. I can’t really talk bad about him. I feel like he knows that once the fight gets made with me, it’s going to be the toughest he’s had at 168 pounds.”
Benavidez isn’t publicly pouting and waiting for a pitting with boxing’s biggest breadwinner.
Earlier this year, he also beat former 168-pound titlist Caleb Plant via unanimous decision. A win against the former two-division titlist Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs) should also give Benavidez a convincing case for 2023 fighter of the year consideration.
The 33-year-old four-division champion Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs) cruised to a unanimous decision win against Jermell Charlo in September and John Ryder in May.
“Canelo is a complete fighter. You can’t take away anything that he’s done,” said Benavidez.
“Canelo is a man and he does anything that he wants to do. I don’t think anything people say really affects him. The people want to see us fight. It’s the biggest fight to make happen. I feel like I’m the biggest threat to him.
“Canelo has his way with smaller guys but I am big and young and throw a lot of combinations. I’m hungry for this fight.”
Should Alvarez continue to carve plans for himself and leave Benavidez on the outside looking in, then Benavidez insists he’ll instead zero in on PBC stablemates David Morrell and Jermall Charlo, a cross-promotional clash with Jaime Munguia, or even a run at 175 pounds.
“We want to fight whoever is the best at 168. I just want to be the best in this division,” said Benavidez.
“I’ve always been a monster, but now that I have this new name [of ‘The Mexican Monster’], it’s making me live up to it. I’m happy and blessed with the way everything has gone.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.