Canelo Alvarez is stuck in a curious conundrum.

In the court of public opinion, it’s David Benavidez or bust as to who the super middleweight champion should fight next around his traditional Cinco De Mayo date.

From Caleb Plant to Billy Joe Saunders and Gennadiy Golovkin to Callum Smith and, most recently, Jermell Charlo, Alvarez has ousted everyone he’s faced at 168 pounds.

And there are still a healthy heap of opponents to pick from for the Mexican superstar for future fights, including Jaime Munguia, Jermall Charlo, David Morrell, Edgar Berlanga, and Christian Mbilli, among others. 

But Benavidez is the darling and most deserving of them all.

The four-division champion Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs) has maintained throughout his ascent that making history and etching a unique legacy is important to his career.

The 33-year-old Alvarez insists that he still plans on fighting for another five years. 

When Alvarez retires, his resume will be compared and debated to legendary countryman Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. as to who’s the best Mexican fighter of all time.

“El Gran Campeón” weighed in on the current trajectory of Alvarez’s career and the potential of fighting Benavidez. 

“Whoever it is going to be, it’s a good opponent for Saul,” Chavez Sr. told reporters. “Well, I don’t know if he’s running from Benavidez. He doesn’t run from any fighter. They’re just stages. Sooner or later, they’re going to fight with Benavidez, and it’s a fight that everybody wants to see. But it’s not up to me. It’s up to Saul. What Canelo has done is incredible. The truth is, I can’t speak badly of Canelo because he’s been very respectful toward me. He’s earned everything he’s gotten fairly. He has the right to fight whoever he wants … Benavidez is a really tall fighter and quite strong for this division [super middleweight], which is a fight that is going to be difficult even for Canelo. It’s very tough.”

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 X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.