Edgar Berlanga believes Canelo Alvarez will never fight David Benavidez because he sees him retiring after he completes his three-fight deal with Matchroom Boxing in 2022.
If Canelo retires at the end of 2022, he’ll leave his goal of becoming undisputed champion at 175 unfinished. That’s something that it’s believed Canelo greatly wants, as he feels it would be a tremendous accomplishment to become a two-division undisputed champion.
No one has ever done that, which would make it an even bigger accomplishment. It would be difficult for Canelo to walk away from boxing without completing his goal of becoming a two-division undisputed champion, particularly if he successfully defeated WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol in his next fight on May 7th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Berlanga doesn’t say that the former four-division world champion Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) is avoiding the talented young 25-year-old Benavidez (25-0, 22 KOs), but it’s possible that’s what he’s thinking.
Benavidez has been pushing for a fight against Canelo for the last several years, and it’s difficult for the Mexican superstar to come up with reasons why he’s not fighting him.
Canelo beats Bivol says Berlanga
“I think it’s going to be a decision. I don’t think it’s going to be a stoppage,” said Edgar Berlanga to ESNEWS about his belief Canelo will win a decision over Bivol on May 7th.
“Bivol is a big boy, so I feel he’s [Canelo] going to box. I don’t know. Canelo is different now, and he might stand toe-to-toe with him,” said Berlanga.
You can’t rule out a victory for Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs) over Canelo on May 7th because the Russian fighter has shown a lot of talent in the past with his one-sided victories over Jean Pascal and Joe Smith Jr.
If Bivol can fight as he did against Smith and Pascal, Canelo could be in for a long night. Taking the possibility of oddball scoring out of the equation as we’ve seen in a number of Canelo’s fights, Bivol could beat him on May 7th, and ruin his dreams of becoming the undisputed champion at 175.
A loss for Canelo against Bivol, especially a bad one, could lead to him retiring this year. Obviously, Canelo would push for an immediate rematch with Bivol rather than taking on Gennady Golovkin on September 17th in a trilogy match.
Losing another fight to Bivol probably would result in Canelo retiring because if he returns to 168, he would be expected to fight David Benavidez, and he’s even more of a nightmare for him than Bivol.
Canelo would look bad in the eyes of boxing fans if he were to lose twice to Bivol, and then return to the 168-lb division without fighting Benavidez.
“I got Canelo,” said Berlanga when asked who wins between Canelo and Gennadiy Golovkin. “I think it’s his age. The wear & tear, because he’s been boxing so many years. He’s at that age already, and I feel like Canelo just went to a whole different level,” said Berlanga.
If Golovkin fights the way he did against Kamil Szeremeta in his last contest, he’ll have a better than average chance of defeating Canelo in their trilogy match in September. Again, this would be assuming that the scoring for the fight makes sense.
When you look at both of Canelo’s fights with GGG in the past, the scoring made no sense, and it left many boxing fans with a bad taste in their mouths.
Berlanga: Canelo will NEVER fight Benavidez
“He ain’t never going to take that fight with Benavidez,” said Berlanga about Canelo. “I don’t think he’s going to take it. To be honest, he signed a three-fight deal, right?
“So, it’s May, September, and December. I think he’s going to retire after those three fights. I think he’s going to hang it up,” said Berlanga about Canelo.
“My personal opinion is he’s ducking Benavidez,” said Floyd Mayweather Jr. “We want to see Benavidez. Let’s make it happen.”
“I don’t care what they feel,” said Canelo to Fighthype when told that Floyd Mayweather Jr and Mike Tyson feel that Benavidez is the BEST fight out there for him. “It doesn’t make sense for me. They [Benavidez] have nothing to offer me.”