David Benavidez believes Canelo Alvarez should have stayed to watch his knockout win over Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez on the Cinco De Mayo card, where he captured the WBO and WBA cruiserweight titles.
Benavidez stopped Ramirez inside six rounds to become a three-division world champion, producing one of the biggest performances of his career. Canelo was in attendance earlier in the night but left the arena before the main event.
Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Benavidez called it a shame that Canelo missed the fight and joked that his performance may have sent a message. “I think I might have scared him away,” Benavidez said.
The rivalry between the two has been discussed for years, but Canelo has repeatedly shown little interest in facing Benavidez. Instead, he watched Jaime Munguia, who recently joined Team Canelo and Eddy Reynoso, win the WBA super middleweight title in the co-main event.
Despite calling out Canelo again after the Ramirez win, Benavidez admitted he no longer expects the fight to happen. “I don’t think that fight is ever going to happen,” he said.
Canelo is expected to return from injury in September against WBC super middleweight champion Christian Mbilli, with plans to reclaim his place as a Cinco De Mayo headliner in 2027.
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