David Benavidez on Canelo: “He needs me and I need him”
‘The Mexican Monster’ believes that it’s the perfect time to meet ‘Canelo’ Alvarez for all the marbles at super middleweight.
David Benavidez put the super middleweight division on notice after his spectacular performance against Demetrius Andrade last weekend.
The undefeated, two-time world champion, proved too strong on fight night and recorded his 28th win as a professional with a corner stoppage win in the sixth round over Boo Boo, arguably his toughest test to date.
Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs) wants to become undisputed at 168 and a legend for Mexican boxing, and that’s why he wants to face Canelo Alvarez next (60-2-2, 39 KOs).
The other reason for a fight against the Guadalajara native is that Canelo is considered the money cow of boxing, and a fight against Eddy Reynoso’s fighter would translate into lots of cash in one night.
“I knew it would be a difficult fight, but I knew I had enough to beat Demetrius Andrade. Truthfully, I feel the fight between me and Canelo should be in May 2024″, Benavidez said to Fight Hub TV.
“We’re ready for this opportunity, and we’ll give the fans what they want. Truthfully, both of us. He needs me, and I need him. He’s a legend in the sport, and I think for me to do what I want to do in Mexican boxing, I need to fight Canelo to get to that level to be a legend in the sport”, he added.
Bivol as Plan B if Benavidez can’t get the Canelo fight
Although Canelo is the main priority for Benavidez, there’s also the possibility that the fight won’t happen.
In that case, Benavidez would probably go up to 175 and challenge the WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol. David’s father, Jose Benavidez Sr., believes that there isn’t anyone else to fight at 168 aside from Canelo.
“The reason I’d go with Bivol is because he beat Canelo. He beat the king, the face of boxing. That’s the only reason”, he explained.
Benavidez Sr. also said that although Bivol is their main goal at 175, they are also open to a fight with the unified light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev:
“[Artur] Beterbiev, he hits super hard. He touches you with those punches; you’re done. They’re dangerous fighters. We’ll fight both of them, but these are the kind of fights that we want to give to the people, the dangerous fights”.
After Benavidez’s performance last Saturday night and his willingness to fight Canelo next, now it’s Alvarez who needs to make a decision. Will he take the challenge and give boxing fans what they want or will he choose a less dangerous opponent?