Jose Benavidez Sr, father and trainer of unbeaten super middleweight contender David Benavidez, believes that last Saturday’s version of Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, who defeated John Ryder over twelve rounds, is not the same Canelo from four fights ago.
Benavidez Sr. believes Canelo is now at the final stage of his career.
“I was thinking that Canelo would stop Ryder within four or five rounds, but I think he didn’t go for the stoppage, and Ryder escaped alive,” Benavidez told Izquierdazo.
“People were not happy [in Guadalajara], they were expecting a stoppage, but as I have been saying, Canelo is in the final stage of his career.”
In Benavidez’s opinion, Canelo did not have the killer instinct to go for the stoppage.
“In this fight, I didn’t see ferocity in Canelo, I didn’t see determination”, Benavidez said. “I didn’t see Canelo wanting to prove that Canelo is still going to be around for a while. I think that he got tired, that he doesn’t have that extra gear, that fire, that power to hurt an opponent and finish him, like the Canelo of the past did.”
Benavidez Sr. had been vocal about Canelo’s decline several months ago, and he continues to insist on that view.
“I think that Canelo’s body is not responding the way it did when he was younger,” Benavidez explained.
“Canelo is still young, but the problem is that he started very young in pro boxing when he was 16-years-old. He’s had many wars, too many training camps with his body. And his body resents that. I think that is the case here. He is not the same Canelo that we saw four fights ago.
“I think [Canelo] made the fight [with Ryder] harder than it should have been. Ryder didn’t feel his power to the extent of staying down on the canvas. Canelo landed good shots, knocked him down, but he didn’t hurt Ryder to the extent of putting him out.”