Will Canelo Not Fighting Benavidez Leave Stain on Legacy?

[Coverdale]

No and it will quickly be forgotten by most people beside a few forum losers who hate their lives and fixate on these things as a substitute for doing something constructive.

I would like to have seen the fight a couple years back but I've accepted it's not going to happen now. I have other interests and had sex recently so it's not a problem.

[daggum]

He understands how winning streaks are massively overrated and wants to end his career on a high note even though it's completely hollow.

As long as you keep winning agaisnt mediocre opposition people will overrate you. They will even talk about what you did 5 to 10 years ago as if it's relevant to now.

He's playing the media game now, his boxing career is essentially over when he ducked benavidez because we know anyone dangerous will be avoided.

He still might lose on an upset but even that has it's benefits because he can say well I'm past it now, I never would have lost to this guy in my prime where he can't really say that about benavidez. Maybe he could have beaten him is the best he can manage.

[Bolie Jackson]

I think it should be held against him slightly, but not be the defining thing in his career. Dude had a great career and fought great fighters. Can't really say he fought till the death in any fights. Good for him not having to do that, but that type of fight would give him bigger stripes...

[Grandma Lover]

Yeah especially when he ran his mouth saying "what has he done" then goes on to fight bumnalgas and Munguia who never even won titles in their division.

[Haka]

As long as Beter and Bivol both are in the 175lbs divison Canelo is not going to play 3rd fiddle in that division. Surely that fight can still happen but Bena must have a belt which will be harder and harder to acquire because new talent is coming up.

[PerfectJab]

I think it should be held against him slightly, but not be the defining thing in his career. Dude had a great career and fought great fighters. Can't really say he fought till the death in any fights. Good for him not having to do that, but that type of fight would give him bigger stripes...

That's true. The deepest he had to dig was against GGG, apart from that he never had to show real heart or the ability to turn the fight around when in trouble. Something that other great fighters have always shown.

And people are still (right or wrong) talking about whether Pacquiao was over the hill when Mayweather fought him. You think that they will not talk about Canelo not fighting Benavidez? Especially if Benavidez keeps heaving great wins. Whether GGG ducked Ward, whether Froch ducked Calzaghe? These things never go away.
About not fighting Benavidez, the thing is that Canelo has a huge ego (the reason why the Bivol loss hurt so bad, because he was humiliated and he admitted seeing a psychologist after the loss).
I think he underestimates what this will do to him and his image (also in Mexico) when he retires, it will bother and frustrate him imo, people's reminders.

Btw. He will also not fight Bivol again (unless Bivol can't lift his arms and move his feet anymore), which means Canelo never avenged a loss in his career..

[JuniorTorres720]

I think it should be held against him slightly, but not be the defining thing in his career. Dude had a great career and fought great fighters. Can't really say he fought till the death in any fights. Good for him not having to do that, but that type of fight would give him bigger stripes...

Yup. He's kind of in a Mayweather funk imo. Floyd was great but for some reason we like to see fighters face adversity to see what's really in them. Canelo has had the benefit of having the business of boxing backing him for most of his career. Maybe when he starts to decline more we'll start to see him unwillingly face adversity.

[ELPacman]

I think Canelo got hooked on phat checks with medicore comp. To the point where he's at now, he's comfortable with these type fights and would rather not have to deal with a war of a fight.

I guess he feels that way about Crawford. That Crawford's size will not present him with much of a challenge that he's going to have to dig deep. I honestly don't think he would of taken the match if he felt the opponent was going to put him through hell.

Benavidez is not the type of fight he's looking for at this point his career. He wants fights that are either easy or make him look good, all while scoring huge paychecks in the process.

[JuniorTorres720]

That's true. The deepest he had to dig was against GGG, apart from that he never had to show real heart or the ability to turn the fight around when in trouble. Something that other great fighters have always shown.

And people are still (right or wrong) talking about whether Pacquiao was over the hill when Mayweather fought him. You think that they will not talk about Canelo not fighting Benavidez? Especially if Benavidez keeps heaving great wins. Whether GGG ducked Ward, whether Froch ducked Calzaghe? These things never go away.
About not fighting Benavidez, the thing is that Canelo has a huge ego (the reason why the Bivol loss hurt so bad, because he was humiliated and he admitted seeing a psychologist after the loss).
I think he underestimates what this will do to him and his image (also in Mexico) when he retires, it will bother and frustrate him imo, people's reminders.

Btw. He will also not fight Bivol again (unless Bivol can't lift his arms and move his feet anymore), which means Canelo never avenged a loss in his career..

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.

[JuniorTorres720]

I think Canelo got hooked on phat checks with medicore comp. To the point where he's at now, he's comfortable with these type fights and would rather not have to deal with a war of a fight.

I guess he feels that way about Crawford. That Crawford's size will not present him with much of a challenge that he's going to have to dig deep. I honestly don't think he would of taken the match if he felt the opponent was going to put him through hell.

Benavidez is not the type of fight he's looking for at this point his career. He wants fights that are either easy or make him look good, all while scoring huge paychecks in the process.

Facts. The only reason I'm intrigued with the Crawford fight is because of how competitive Crawford is. I don't think he's just in it for the paycheck although that's definitely a reason he took the fight. I think Crawford really believes he can win the fight which is why it's intriguing. But, like you said, Canelo obviously thinks the size difference will give him a cushion in the fight and it's likely that it will. Crawford has an uphill battle. Canelo vs. Benavidez would have been fireworks.