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Although Canelo Alvarez has forged a career that will safely place him in the Hall of Fame when he ultimately hangs up his gloves, a shroud of mystery constantly surrounded him.
While he never officially suffered defeat at the hands of Gennadiy Golovkin, his two prior results against him, a split draw and majority decision win, left many in the boxing world unsatisfied. So, in an effort to close the door on their rivalry for good, the two recently engaged in a third showdown, one that Alvarez won handily.
Following the victory, a smiling Alvarez became immediately agitated as he was bombarded with questions pertaining to a matchup against David Benavidez. Apoplectic by the need of reporters to suggest that he was unwilling to face the 25-year-old star, Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KOs) lambasted Benavidez as he took a close look at his current resume.
“What he accomplished? Nothing,” said Alvarez recently to a group of reporters. “One single champion, Anthony Dirrell.”
While Alvarez points to Benavidez’s ledger and claims that the former two-time WBC trinket holder has fought only one former champion, up until this point, Benavidez has taken on two former champions, making quick work of David Lemieux earlier this year.
Still, despite Alvarez implying that his Mexican counterpart has done little to nothing to earn a showdown against him, Benavidez (26-0, 23 KOs) has quickly fired back, dismissing Alvarez’s claims.
“Everything he was saying is bullshit,” said Benavidez to BoxingScene.com. “There’s rankings in the WBC for a reason. I’ve won two back-to-back title eliminators for a reason and won the interim belt. Man, that’s the fight everybody is talking about. Who f—— cares if I fought one world champion. If I’m so easy like he says and he’s not scared to beat me, come beat me.”
With every intention to continue his move up the ladder, Benavidez will attempt to claim his third scalp of a former world champion when he takes on Jose Uzcategui. Although unofficial, all signs point to the pair squaring off in the first quarter of 2023.
For now, no matter how badly the Phoenix, Arizona, native would love to get his hands on the pound-for-pound star, he’ll place his focus on his own career. Should he continue his winning ways, Benavidez believes that at some point, Alvarez will have no choice but to fight him.
“What I have to do is keep winning and the fight is eventually going to happen. I’m going to be extremely ready for when that happens.”