David Benavidez claimed the biggest win of his career when he closed out an impressive unanimous decision victory over Caleb Plant in March.
Mexican-American power puncher Benavidez moved to 27-0 against Plant, the ex-IBF ruler at 168lbs.
Of course, all the belts now reside with Mexican superstar Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez, who takes on mandatory challenger John Ryder in homecoming bout in Guadalajara this weekend.
If Canelo is victorious, plenty of attention will turn in a certain direction.
Despite being six years the undisputed champion's junior, Benavidez has rarely spoken respectfully of his rival, meaning the pound-for-pound superstar might yet break one of the unwritten rules of his world-ruling career.
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Why won’t Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez fight Mexican boxers?
The intrigue and war of words around a potential Canelo vs. Benavidez started inadvertently.
Canelo was discussing the meeting between his conqueror and WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol and Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez.
“If it’s Zurdo [who wins the fight], I don’t want to fight with Mexicans … I represent Mexico," Alvarez told USA Today. "I think Zurdo has a chance to win and I want him to win."
Canelo made these comments in the build-up to his trilogy fight against Gennadiy Golovkin and it was ultimately a moot point, as Bivol boxed masterfully in Abu Dhabi last November to beat Ramirez via a wide unanimous decision.
But the remarks were seized upon by Benavidez.
“To be honest, I feel like I’m Mexican and Ecuadorian but I was born in the US, I feel like he’s just talking about his countrymen, people from Mexico,” he told Fight Hype TV. "I get a lot of criticism too, people saying ‘he’s American, not Mexican’. That comment Canelo made, it’s not for me. I’m not 100% Mexican. I’m Mexican and Ecuadorian and I was born in the US.
“I feel like if he’s not going to fight anymore Mexicans then what’s going on? I have the WBC interim belt. We have rankings for a reason, I’ve earned my spot repeatedly. I won two title eliminators. It’s not my fault that these f------ guys don’t want to fight me.
“I don’t want to keep talking and talking because we all look like f------ idiots. The walls are closing in for these fighters.”
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Even though Benavidez also named the likes of Jermall Charlo, David Morrell, and Plant in this diatribe, he certainly caught Canelo’s attention.
“I don’t know, anything can happen,” Canelo said when asked about a potential Benavidez fight in the aftermath of dominating Golovkin. "When I say I don’t want to fight Mexicans, it’s because I represent Mexico. That’s why. But I don’t care. I’ll fight anybody. My entire life, I’ll fight anybody.”
Of course, when Canelo started his career, he boxed a string of compatriots. It is true, though, that since moving to world level he has boxed Mexicans sparingly.
Most recently, he faced Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in a money-spinning grudge match in 2017, one of only three Mexican foes faced since winning a maiden world title against Matthew Hatton back in March 2011.
Beating Alfonso Gomez in the second defence of that WBC super welterweight belt was the only all-Mexican affair involving Canelo for a world title. A bout against Alfredo Angulo immediately after his loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and the Chavez showdown were each non-title fights.
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What did David Benavidez Sr. say about Canelo?
It’s not just been Benavidez the fighter trying to prompt Canelo to change course. His father has been part of a two-pronged attack. Once again, it has not gone unnoticed.
“I hear his dad talking a lot of s---, but look what he’s accomplished - nothing,” Alvarez said, failing to hide his disdain in his post-Golovkin briefing. “One single champion, Anthony Dirrell. Please, I want to respect myself. Please, guys.”
Asked what Benavidez might do next, he replied: “I don’t f------ care.”
Benavidez Sr.’s most notable goading of Canelo came during the buildup to his son’s fight with Plant.
“I consider him [Canelo], with all due respect, done as a fighter,” Jose Benavidez Sr. told IZQUIERDAZO. “He is worn out. “First, we saw him with a knee injury, and now he injured his hand. Now, we can see that Canelo is starting to drink. He is beginning to enjoy life. But he has all the right to do that because he has been a very disciplined fighter. He has many businesses now and is not focused 100% on boxing.
“Now, he is playing golf, which requires time and dedication. I think Canelo should stay at golf and start a career there. I have heard that he is very good at golf. There is no age limit to play that sport."
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Will Canelo fight Benavidez next?
In the short-to-medium term, the fight looks tricky to make.
Should he beat Ryder as expected, Canelo insists his priority is a rematch against Bivol, whether back up at light heavyweight or with the undefeated Russian coming down to 168 lbs. It shouldn’t be too tricky a fight to make, given both fighters have ties to promoter Matchroom and broadcaster DAZN.
Nevertheless, Benavidez's dominant performance against Plant plotted out a realistic and lucrative alternative path.
“I’ve been the mandatory for the past two fights and I feel like, once the people see this fight [against Plant] — because it’s going to be one of the fights of the year — people are going to call for [the Canelo fight] and ask for it and if he doesn’t give the fans what they want to see then he’s going to face a lot of criticism,” he told The Sporting News prior to his previous bout.
“After I beat Caleb Planet, I’m entitled to fight for the WBC belt and, if Canelo doesn’t want to fight me for it, he’s going to have to drop the belt. I don't think he's going to want to face all that criticism but we'll see.”
One of the reasons Benavidez believes he can be the first man to defeat Canelo at 168lbs is his size advantage. However, this means the clock is ticking on his super middleweight career. He feels he has three or four fights left at the weight.
In 2020, Benavidez lost the WBC title on the scales against Roamer Alexis Angulo when he failed to make weight. It was the second time Benavidez found himself stripped of the WBC crown following a positive test for cocaine in 2018.
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“I 100% believe in my heart that any man they put in front of me I can stop,” he said when asked about a Canelo fight. “It’s not only my pressure but it’s the punches in bunches. I go from head to body really good, I throw great uppercuts and hooks and combinations. I can do everything in there.
“The more that people doubt me saying I can’t do this, I can’t do that, it’s fine. At the end of the day they get in the ring with me and say ‘Oh s---, this guy is on another level.
“I feel like I could do the same thing with Canelo. He’s, what, like 5’8? I’m 6’2, I go up to 190lbs after the weigh-in. I’ve been holding my ground since I was 14 years old fighting Gennadiy Golovkin. Dude was trying to kill me and I was trying to kill him. That’s why I have this fighting style because it's the only way I know how to fight.”
For his part, Benavidez Sr. says the Canelo ship has sailed and his son is moving on, even if it also looks like his most obvious attempt yet to goad the champion.
“I have bad news for everybody: there will not be a fight between David Benavidez and Canelo. Forget about that fight. We have other horizons," he added to IZQUIERDAZO.
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“We have a contract for three fights with [David] Morell, [Jermall] Charlo, and [Demetrius] Andrade. Those are very good fights, names that Canelo Alvarez didn’t want to fight. So, we will fight with them to show who we are.
“David’s body might change next year, and we are ready to go to 175. We can fight Bivol. We would get revenge for Canelo. Bivol is a dangerous fighter, and it would be an honor for us to have revenge for Mexico.
“I think Bivol and Beterbiev are willing to fight anybody. They are not looking for easy fighters. But they don’t ask to put clauses and don’t demand that much. They are true fighters that want to fight any rival."
Who isn't a true fighter that wants to fight any rival? Who could he mean? The mind boggles.