Canelo Alvarez was mum last Saturday night when asked who he plans on fighting next following a one-sided twelve round unanimous decision over a surprisingly timid Jermell Charlo in Las Vegas.
Fans on social media say they want the undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo (60-2-2,39 KOs) to get it over with by taking on David Benavidez because it’s not going to get any easier by waiting.
Unlike what he did with Gennadiy Golovkin, Canelo can’t wait until Benavidez has gotten old and lost a few steps before finally facing him.
If Canelo doesn’t fight Benavidez next, fans want to see him fight one of these guys next:
- Terence Crawford
- Dmitry Bivol
- Demetrius Andrade
- David Morrell Jr.
Jermell’s non-performance spoiled it for his brother Jermall Charlo to face Canelo next. If PBC goes down that road of using Jermall as Canelo’s next opponent, they could live to regret it when the fight bombs badly on PPV.
The longer Canelo waits, the more it impacts his game, as he’s an old 33, and he clearly not the fighter he was back in 2017 when he fought GGG for the first time.
If Canelo is waiting & hoping that Benavidez will outgrow the 168 lb division, it’s likely not going to happen anytime soon. Benavidez will continue to drain himself to the point where he resembles the ghoul crypt-keeper from ‘Tales from the Crypt’ until he finally gets to fight Canelo.
There’s too much money at stake for Benavidez to abandon the 168-lb division to go up to 175 or cruiserweight, both dead divisions with no stars and no money.
“I think Canelo can win that fight now. Before, I didn’t. I thought, ‘Benavidez is too much,'” said Chris Algieri to Inside Boxing Live about his belief that Canelo Alvarez is capable of beating David Benavidez right now.
Going by how Benavidez struggled against Caleb Plant, Canelo has a heck of a chance of beating him. Benavidez still has to get by Demetrius Andrade on November 25th, and he could lose that fight, particularly if he’s drained from making the 168-lb limit. Benavidez looked like death, making weight for the Plant fight, and it could be worse for him against Andrade.
“There are some things about Benavidez that he hasn’t figured out yet,” said Algieri. “I think he’s going to learn a lot from that Andrade fight, and he’s going to be a more dangerous guy if he wins because that’s not a gimme, either.
“If he’s [Benavidez] able to secure a solid victory over a guy like Andrade, that’s a huge statement.
“I still give him a chance because it’s a very different style, and he’s not going to phone it in like Charlo. He’s going to fight,” said Algieri about whether Benavidez has a chance against Canelo.
“A lot of the things that he does will be difficult for Canelo to deal with. The size is a big one because he’s [Benavidez] just as big as Bivol, even though Bivol is at 175-pounder. He’s just that big, and he’s very busy. He throws a lot of punches.
“But there are a lot of opportunities for him to be countered, and Canelo can pick his spots. The activity, the youth, and the size [of Benavidez] are a lot of tackle. But Canelo looked good tonight.
“When you got that counter-punching tank who puts power& pressure on you nonstop. That’s the guy I said a few years ago,’How do you beat that guy?’
“When he was fighting Caleb Plant, how do you beat that version of that guy? What do you do? You can’t him. He’s got great defense; He walks you down. He’s got that aggressive head movement.
“He’s walking you down. Everything he throws is hard, explosive, and eye-catching,” said Algieri.
