By and large, Canelo Alvarez has sought out some of the more arduous challenges in an effort to prove his pugilistic stature. But while the pound-for-pound luminary believes that he’s taken on all comers, David Benavidez has openly wondered why a showdown between them has yet to come to fruition.
Alvarez, after closing the door on his rivalry with Gennadiy Golovkin, dismissed the idea of facing Benavidez in his next outing. According to the Mexican star, his 26-year-old counterpart has failed to face the sort of elite-level fighters that would warrant him as a future foe. Nevertheless, considering his current placement in each of the four sanctioning bodies, Benavidez concludes that he’s done more than enough to solidify a bout against the super middleweight division’s reigning kingpin.
“It just doesn’t really make any sense,” said Benavidez on The Last Stand with Brian Custer. “I been winning title eliminators, I just won an interim title. I feel like a lot of people now don’t respect the boxing ranks. If you don’t respect the boxing ranks, what are the boxing ranks for?”
Indeed, Benavidez remains perched as the number one contender in the WBC following his lopsided stoppage victory over David Lemieux. While he could continue to poke and prod Alvarez, Benavidez (26-0, 23 KOs) has opted to put his money where his mouth is.
Though unofficial, the current WBC interim tag holder will take on Caleb Plant in the coming months, with the winner being mandated as Alvarez’s next challenger. In the meanwhile, however, Alvarez appears to have a completely booked schedule.
Supposedly in May, the 32-year-old will return to the ring with John Ryder emerging as the front-runner. Should things go according to plan, Alvarez will saunter into a rematch against Dmitry Bivol.
Although Benavidez isn’t ostensibly on his radar, the hard-hitting former champion refuses to get acrimonious over the entire ordeal. In his view, Alvarez’s reluctance to take him seriously stems from unabated fear.
“I’m the number one guy, I’m the mandatory. I think he’s just talking a lot of shit because he doesn’t want to see me. He knows I’m the biggest threat at 168.”
