Canelo Alvarez says a long-discussed fight with David Benavidez is no longer realistic because Benavidez has moved up from super middleweight to light heavyweight.
“When we were both at 168, I fought every champion in that division,” Canelo said. “Why he never fight those champions? If he was a champion at that point, I fight him. My goal was being undisputed. Right now, it’s just impossible. He can come fight with heavyweights.”
That explanation is unlikely to quiet the criticism. Benavidez spent years calling for the fight while holding interim WBC status at super middleweight, and many still believe Canelo could have faced him before Benavidez moved up. Canelo instead went through other opponents, including Edgar Berlanga, Jaime Munguia, John Ryder and William Scull.
The weight argument has also drawn pushback because Canelo has fought at light heavyweight before, facing Sergey Kovalev and Dmitry Bivol. Terence Crawford also moved up two divisions to face Canelo at 168, which makes some fans question why Benavidez being at 175 now makes the fight impossible.
Benavidez has since captured titles at light heavyweight, while Canelo is focused elsewhere at super middleweight. But Canelo’s latest comments may only reopen the debate over why the fight never happened when both men were still in the same division.
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