Eddie Hearn begins to salivate when he thinks about the upcoming showdown between Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin this Saturday. With two memorable matchups between them, the longtime promoter believes that their third installment will have a strong chance of becoming a true fight of the year candidate.
But while Hearn continues to do his best to promote their awe-inspiring trilogy, fighters such as David Benavidez and Jermall Charlo have urged Alvarez to face them in the ring. Ultimately, despite calling out the undisputed super middleweight titlist and pound-for-pound star, Hearn has purposely stepped into the line of fire.
Although Hearn respects their fighting ability and faithful fan bases, the head honcho of Matchroom Boxing believes that neither man has a strong leg to stand on. As he gazes upon what he considers to be tenuous resumes, Hearn can't help but laugh loudly at their level of opposition.
“These guys, Charlo, Benavidez, they're fighting absolutely nobody,” said Hearn during an interview with Fight Hub TV. “How can you criticize the resume of Canelo Alvarez and not criticize the resume of Charlo or Benavidez? I don’t even think that Benavidez wants a joke resume, Charlo I don’t know.”
Charlo, 32, has spent the latter part of his career sitting sequestered on the sidelines. In both 2020 and 2021, the truculent Houstonian fought just once, defeating Sergiy Derevyanchenko and most recently, Juan Macias Montiel. As for Benavidez, the former two-time super middleweight belt holder made quick work of David Lemieux earlier this year, stopping his foe in the third round.
While Hearn admits that he isn’t impressed with the opponent selection for either man, he does acknowledge that Benavidez, more or less, has been a victim of unfortunate circumstances. However, in the case of Charlo, Hearn has come to the conclusion that the current WBC middleweight belt holder is very much content with taking on unheralded opponents.
“I don’t think he’s pushing,” said Hearn of Charlo. “Benavidez, I think he’s a guy who wants the legacy, I think he wants the big fights. But give them to him.”
Though neither Benavidez nor Charlo are under Hearn’s promotional thumb, he knows good and well that both fighters, who are aligned with Premier Boxing Champions, have a long list of credible foes they could possibly take on. Caleb Plant, a former super middleweight titlist who suffered the lone defeat of his career last year against Alvarez, is a high profile opponent for both Charlo and Benavidez.
Instead, the newly turned 30-year-old will take on Anthony Dirrell, a decision that bemuses Hearn. With Benavidez and Charlo in need of a signature bout, Hearn would rather see either fighter take on Plant instead.
“Plant’s fighting Dirrell, good fight but we want to see Benavidez-Plant, we want to see Plant-Charlo.”
