Paulie Malignaggi says that if Canelo Alvarez doesn’t defend his four 168-lb titles against his WBC mandatory David Benavidez in 2024, it’ll be the “biggest duck in boxing history.”
Malignaggi feels that Canelo (60-2-2, 39 KOs) must do the right thing and face Benavidez, who he thinks is the most deserving contender in the super middleweight division, even more so than Jaime Munguia.
Jeepers has no problems, with Terence Crawford and Jermall Charlo being the fighters Canelo defends against in 2024.
Speaking in military terms, Benavidez has done his time in grade yet for him to rate a title shot against Canelo ahead of Crawford and Jermall.
You can’t even get Benavidez to fight David Morrell or Artur Beterbiev. He hasn’t paid his dues to be ahead of Crawford & Charlo for the Canelo sweepstakes this year.
Benavidez: The Deserving Contender
“The rumors I’m hearing is [Jermall] Charlo in May. I’m not going to get too crazy about that until I get confirmation,” said boxing expert Paulie Malignaggi to ProBox TV about who Canelo could be fighting on May 4th.
“If it’s Charlo and Spence [for Canelo this year], I don’t know how you boycott that. If Canelo doesn’t fight Benavidez, is this the biggest duck in boxing history? You are a champion, and he is the bonified #1 contender, and you even got a guy like Munguia and Morrell, who are dangerous as well.”
If Malignaggi is going to label Canelo a duck, he needs to include Benavidez in the label because he’s ducking Morrell and Beterbiev fiercely.
Ducking AccusationsÂ
“You’re talking about the biggest duck in boxing history. This is in your same weight class, and you are the champion. Is Benavidez being ducked more blatantly than that? I think he is at this point,” said Malignaggi.
“Munguia putting himself into the sweepstakes makes this weight class that much more difficult to maneuver if you’re a super middleweight. I don’t know if Canelo wants to maneuver in a difficult weight class at this point.
“He’s been there and done a lot of things. At this point in his career, he’s made a lot of money. I don’t know that he wants to be involved in a weight class like this, but he likes to be the champion. He likes to have the accolades of the undisputed champion,” said Malignaggi.
