Will Canelo Not Fighting Benavidez Leave Stain on Legacy?

Benavidez will always be thought of as one big fish that got away; especially if he prospers at 175. That said; you can't fight em' all. Benavidez was ranked in the top spot in Canelo's division for a very long while however, and unless he gets tooled at 175, becomes 'incarcerated' by his limitations and promptly forgotten, he will serve as a symbol of Alvarez's reluctance to engage with the best. True that. Look, I know Canelo is financially wealthy and that's great. He has a solid resume. He's done some great things. But the Benavidez fight not happening leaves a stain on his legacy imo because there was a time when that fight made all the sense in the world. It's slipping away the longer Benavidez stays at 175 but man, what a fight that would be or have been. We could really see what Canelo Alvarez has inside him. But it's his life and I don't know how much weight those thoughts will carry when h's living lavishly.

Put it this way, Canelo will never be known as the greatest Mexican boxer by those who know boxing. And ducking a real challenge like David Benavidez certainly doesn't help Saul's image at all. It's because as fans we know who the real greats are. Guys that fought through adversity and lost something inside that ring for glory and honor. Canelo hasn't had that moment. All the greats have given us classics. Canelo has had some good fights but honestly he's never fought back from adversity and shown what's really inside him. Him fighting someone like Benavidez a few years ago had the potential to do that. It still does although I think the fight is slipping away because Benavidez is only going to get bigger and probably leave 175 one day. But Canelo still has an opportunity to lay it out all on the line and really test himself for the sake of legacy. But, that's not our decision to make. Canelo has to be comfortable in knowing he has financial wealth but is he willing to possibly go into deep waters?

I'm beginning to believe that we may never see Canelo vs. Benavidez. Benavidez is firmly at 175 pounds and he looks like a legit 175 pound fighter. I believe at 168 pounds he would rehydrate to around 200 pounds. Canelo beat a declining Kovalev at 175 but came up short against a prime Bivol. Canelo is also a small guy. Yes, he's acclimated at 168 pounds but let's admit that he's usually the fighter with a smaller frame fighting bigger fighters. How much would not taking the Benavidez fight really affect his legacy? Will the time frame in which they were both at 168 pounds, with all the reasons to make the fight happen, overshadow the fact that Benavidez will have moved on to 175 and beyond while Canelo stayed at 168?​ Benavidez will always be thought of as one big fish that got away; especially if he prospers at 175. That said; you can't fight em' all. Benavidez was ranked in the top spot in Canelo's division for a very long while however, and unless he gets tooled at 175, becomes 'incarcerated' by his limitations and promptly forgotten, he will serve as a symbol of Alvarez's reluctance to engage with the best.

But he was ready to go all the way to heavyweight I recall when the Canelo nuthuggers were claiming he would be heavyweight champ some day Lol, yeah I know, casual fangirls gonna fangirl but seriously.......168 is overrated. Canelo vs that new boy at MW Janibek is the only thing im interested in seeing.

benavidez is not a stain on canelo resume,but on his chones,

He doesn't want to face bivol in a rematch and doesn't want to fight benavidez. He should retire after the crawford fight if he doesn't want to fight anyone else.

Canelo refusing to fight him is promotion for David

I'm beginning to believe that we may never see Canelo vs. Benavidez. Benavidez is firmly at 175 pounds and he looks like a legit 175 pound fighter. I believe at 168 pounds he would rehydrate to around 200 pounds. Canelo beat a declining Kovalev at 175 but came up short against a prime Bivol. Canelo is also a small guy. Yes, he's acclimated at 168 pounds but let's admit that he's usually the fighter with a smaller frame fighting bigger fighters. How much would not taking the Benavidez fight really affect his legacy? Will the time frame in which they were both at 168 pounds, with all the reasons to make the fight happen, overshadow the fact that Benavidez will have moved on to 175 and beyond while Canelo stayed at 168?​ It’s a reach but I do see a path for Canelo-Benavidez happening. If Benavidez beats the winner of Bivol-Beterbiev that would grow his profile a lot. Especially if it’s Bivol since he beat the guy that dominated Canelo. At that point, Ginger may agree to fight him if it’s at a catchweight of 170 lbs or so for David’s lhw title(s). Not holding my breath for any of this but that’s the main way a fight between them may materialize imo

That “small time frame” was 3 years long. In those 3 years, Benevidez had the ability to bring Canelo more $$$, legacy and prestige than any other 168 lber and he had the best resume as well. All we got from Canelo was weak excuses and outrageous purse demands he knew no promoter would pay. Here the straight dope, if Canelo thought he could beat Benevidez, that fight would have happened already. He doesn’t…………. You can even go longer than 3 years really.

Put it this way, Canelo will never be known as the greatest Mexican boxer by those who know boxing. And ducking a real challenge like David Benavidez certainly doesn't help Saul's image at all.

Great post. A couple years ago I thought the noise to fight Benavidez would grow too loud for him to ignore. He could only avoid the fight so long until the walls started to close in. Had Benavidez remained at 168 I think the noise would be pretty loud right now. But now that he's at 175, the clamor has gone down a bit. But like you said, those questions will always linger. I would think Canelo would care more deeply about his image but it seems like he's ok with how things are going. Canelo is concerned about his image. He'd rather face the humiliation of ducking Benavidez, than the humiliation of getting beaten pillar to post by him.

Lol, I agree he has a solid resume. Benavidez is carving out his own legacy. But there was a small time frame in which both fighters were at 168 and there were very valid reasons for the fight to happen. The blame for the fight not happening could lay more on Canelo since he was the money fighter and held most or all of the belts. Right now I think it's leaving question marks on Canelo's legacy. But maybe in 10-15 years people will look back on it differently. I don't know. That “small time frame” was 3 years long. In those 3 years, Benevidez had the ability to bring Canelo more $$$, legacy and prestige than any other 168 lber and he had the best resume as well. All we got from Canelo was weak excuses and outrageous purse demands he knew no promoter would pay. Here the straight dope, if Canelo thought he could beat Benevidez, that fight would have happened already. He doesn’t………….

Lol, I agree he has a solid resume. Benavidez is carving out his own legacy. But there was a small time frame in which both fighters were at 168 and there were very valid reasons for the fight to happen. The blame for the fight not happening could lay more on Canelo since he was the money fighter and held most or all of the belts. Right now I think it's leaving question marks on Canelo's legacy. But maybe in 10-15 years people will look back on it differently. I don't know. It was not a small window, almost three years looks more like a gate, and canelo fought three undeserving boxers instead of Benavidez, I think is a stain on his legacy just like the PEDS.

just saw a recent clip of bena doing mitts and he was imitating one of Manny's combo... he mentions that pac is one of his favorite fighter.. because of that, I will not refer to him as benabum or benascum anymore! lol.

The stain is already there when he gets gifts, fight people with stipulations a galore and brings little people up in weight to fight him. F Clenelo TheConman Alvaroid.

No, because Canelo shouldn't even be fighting at 168-175, he needs to be at 160. Canelo is too small for the higher weight classes, Bivol fight proved this. But he was ready to go all the way to heavyweight I recall when the Canelo nuthuggers were claiming he would be heavyweight champ some day

Better boxing fans want legacy fights and the best fighting the best. Other fans seemingly trying to live through fighters and boxer's '0' are their '0' for bragging rights. If Canelo does fight Benavidez, it definitely wont be at both their best. Canelo is definitely declining. Hopefully he fights him before the scales get wider.. Hey, fight tough in a loss, you'll still get love. I don't hold the Hagler fight against Hearns, just glad I saw it...

Well, hes not retiring yet so maybe we can see fight someday. Nelo might need to cherrypick Benny even, see how it goes. Nelo might think he dont need neccesarily fight Benny at bennys best. Who knows?

Canelo's entire career has been stained since the Lara fight. It was further stained by the 1st GGG fight. He managed to show grit by becoming undisputed against Plant, then preceded to stain it again by fighting a career WW instead of Benavidez

No, because Canelo shouldn't even be fighting at 168-175, he needs to be at 160. Canelo is too small for the higher weight classes, Bivol fight proved this.