By Lem Satterfield
Unbeaten former 168-pound champion David Benavidez said “I know I have what it takes” to win an all-Mexican clash with newly-crowned WBA “regular” champion Canelo Alvarez, who earned his third crown in as many divisions with Saturday’s four-knockdown, third-round KO that dethroned Rocky Fielding of England while retaining his pair of 160-pound titles.
The 5-foot-8 Alvarez (51-1-2, 35 KOs) dominated the 6-foot-1 Fielding (27-2, 15 KOs), flooring him with left hooks in the first and second rounds and twice in the third – the first time with a right hand to the head and the last with a third left hook to the body.
Expected to return to the middleweight division in May, Alvarez’s domination of Fielding comes on the heels of dethroning Gennady Golovkin (38-1-1, 34 KOs) as WBA/WBC middleweight champion by majority decision in September’s rematch of their draw in September 2017.
"I don't really think Rocky Fielding had anything at all for Canelo,” said Benavidez, speaking to BoxingScene.com from his training facility in Seattle, Washington. “The way Rocky should have fought Canelo was at a distance with his jab rather than try to brawl with Canelo, and Canelo was way too strong for him. Canelo had some great body shots and great uppercuts. He took advantage of what Rocky gave him, so congratulations to him."
But he switch-hitting 6-foot-2 Benavidez (20-0, 17 KOs) wants Alvarez to remain, if not, return to 168, giving the 21-year-old an opportunity to regain the crown he was stripped of in October after testing positive for a banned substance.
"I know I have what it takes to beat Canelo and I would love to fight him. I feel like there are a lot of things in my style that could make it difficult for him. Canelo’s a really good fighter, but I see a lot of holes in his game,” said Benavidez, referring to head-shots Fielding landed on Alvarez.
“If you can keep him at a distance, box around him and make him run into shots, especially uppercuts, you can hurt him. I feel like I can make that happen. But obviously, he's the cash cow and everybody from 154 to 168 wants that fight, so I have to prove myself by coming back strong and win my title back.”
Once the youngest world champion in division history, Benavidez returns to action on March 16 against an opponent to be determined in a 10-round bout as the co-main event as left-handed IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence (24-0, 21 KOs) defends against four-division title winner Mikey Garcia (39-0, 30 KOs) on FOX (9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT) at The Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The location is near Spence’s hometown of DeSoto.
Benavidez comes back from a six-month suspension for a positive drug test of benzoylecgonine -- a main ingredient for cocaine – and was declared “Champion in recess” in October, effectively stripping of his WBC crown.
The ruling was made at the WBC convention where former champion Anthony Dirrell (32-1-1, 24 KOs) was ordered into a vacant title fight against Avni Yildirim (21-1, 12 KOs), and it allows Benavidez to challenge the winner between Dirrell and Yildirum after his suspension ends on February 27.
Dirrell will face Turkey’s Yildirum on February 23 at The Minneapolis Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Fox (10 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT).
A native of Phoenix, Arizona, Benavidez had been mandated for a September 2017 defense Dirrell, but the ex-champion pulled out due to a back injury. So the then-20-year-old Benavidez earned a split-decision over replacement Ronald Gavril, overcoming an injured middle left knuckle and a final round knockdown to become the youngest world champion in division history and the sport’s youngest titleholder at the time.
Benavidez ended Gavril’s seven-fight winning streak (five by KO), surpassed 22-year-old Darrin Van Horn’s accomplishment in May 1991, and won his February return bout with Gavril by near shutout unanimous decision.
Trained by his father, Jose Benavidez Sr., Benavidez debuted professionally at age 16 in Mexico in August 2013, going 7-0 with all knockouts south of the border before competing in his hometown three days after turning 18.
Prior to Gavril, Benavidez scored a three-knockdown, eighth-round TKO of former title challenger Rogelio Medina in May 2017, representing his 10th straight stoppage and his 17th in 18 victories, including 13 inside of two rounds.
"Canelo would be a great opportunity for me, being in my weight division, opening the doors for a lot of people at 168,” said Benavidez. “But, you know, I think if everything goes according to plan, and I should come back and win the title, I know that I can get the Mexican people on my side. I feel that would be a big fight that would make sense for the future.”
