David Benavidez still stubbornly thinks that a fight with Canelo Alvarez will happen, and he feels that a victory over Demetrius Andrade on November 25th will open the door for that to happen.
If Benavidez is weakened from weight loss for this fight, Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs) will beat the brakes off him in their headliner on Showtime PPV at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.
At some point, Benavidez may be forced to give up his tireless chase for the payday against Canelo and move up to light heavyweight, where he belongs. He’s a fighter who is killing himself to make 168, wanting that fight against Canelo, but he has to give up soon.
Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) says he wants to stay at 168 long for another three more fights to dominate the division before moving up to 175 to then go after champions Artur Beterbiev & Dmitry Bivol.
It’s going to be asking a lot of the 26-year-old Benavidez to stay at 168 for three more fights because he looked like he was at death’s door making weight last March for his fight with Caleb Plant.
Benavidez looked like a classic picture of someone who had drained every ounce of water weight out of himself after the weigh-in, and he had the appearance of a fighter who had sacrificed too much.
It’s great that Benavidez wants to fight Canelo to finally get that payday that he’s been chasing for many years; when you’re basically a light heavyweight or cruiserweight, as he clearly is, you have listen to what your body is saying to you.
If light heavyweights like Artur Beterbiev or cruiserweights like Lawrence Okolie could drain down to 168 like Benavidez is still barely able to do, they’d be chasing a payday against Canelo as well.
Those guys wouldn’t put their health at risk, and Benavidez could eventually hit the ceiling if he tried to keep making 168 for much longer.
Brian Custer: “So on November 25th on pay-per-view, you’re fighting Demetrius Andrade. Tell us why,” said Brian to Showtime Sports.
David Benavidez: “This is the most difficult fight in my division right now. Canelo is doing his own thing. I was the #1 contender for two years.”
Custer: “Andrade has been chasing Canelo for a long time, too. Is it now where you’re at the point where, ‘If I get it, I get it. If I don’t, I don’t. I’m just going to keep plugging forward.'”
Benavidez: “When the Canelo fight happens, that’s great. But I’m already headlining my own pay-per-views without him, and I’ll be ready for him when it does happen.”
Custer: “Do you think that now that he’s [Canelo] signed with PBC, there’s a better chance of making that fight happen now?”
Benavidez: “I think there is a better chance. I want to conquer the super middleweight weight class.”
Custer: “Do you think that would affect Canelo’s legacy if he retires without fighting you?”
Benavidez: “I think it would affect his legacy. I don’t Canelo will retire without fighting me. He takes challenges. He’s a warrior. So, I think the fight is going to happen when he wants it to happen.”
Custer: “Is there any chance that you move up to 175 after the Andrade and Canelo fight? Do you have any interest in fighting Beterbiev & Bivol?”
Benavidez: “I definitely do want to fight Bivol when I get to 175. We had a lot of good sparring sessions, me and that guy. So, I feel like it’s time for us to show the world. I sparred him a lot.”
Custer: “Really?”
Benavidez: “He’s a good fighter. It was a war. I know when we give the fans the fight, it’s going to be a legendary fight.”
Custer: “In your heart of hearts, do you really believe Canelo wants to fight you?”
Benavidez: “Yes.’
Custer: “The biggest threat to the undisputed super middleweight title not named David Benavidez.”
Benavidez: “David Morrell.”
