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David Benavidez makes controversial claim about pound-for-pound star Canelo Alvarez
Canelo Alvarez is 'scared', that's the view of WBC light heavyweight champion David Benavidez when he was asked about why a fight against the Mexican has never become a reality.
Since becoming the WBC's interim champion at 168lbs in 2022 with a third round knockout against David Lemieux, Benavidez was in a prime position to challenge Alvarez and it was a fight many fans were crying out for.
But to the annoyance of the boxing world, a Alvarez-Benavidez matchup failed to materialise.
With Alvarez showing little interest, Benavidez could not wait any longer and moved up to light heavyweight where he is now the WBC world champion.
The first defence of his 175lb world title belt will take place on November 22 in Riyadh, live on DAZN, where he will face British challenger Anthony Yarde.
Ring MagazineWhile Benavidez is eager to become undisputed at light heavyweight, Alvarez is a name which continues to be linked with 'The Mexican Monster' and it became a topic of conversation during his appearance on Inside The Ring.
"He’s definitely scared of me, if you have a fighter talking so much trash in front of you, why don’t you make an example of him to the world?" Benavidez said after being asked whether Alvarez is afraid to face him.
"Beat me in the ring and make a whole lot of money.
"Canelo Alvarez, as you can see from every time he fights a guy that’s big with power, like Bivol, he’s not able to suppress these fighters as much as he’s able to suppress the little fighters.
"He sees a lot of things in me that he can’t stop, not only does he see speed and power, he sees a lot of heart in me."
If the pair did clash while Benavidez was campaigning at super middleweight, then it would be close to, if not a 50-50 fight. However, after moving to 175lbs, Benavidez has improved significantly and has developed serious confidence both inside and outside of the ring.
Quizzed on how a fight between himself and Alvarez would play out, Benavidez believes the Mexican has 'no chance' of winning and claimed that Alvarez's reluctance to face him at super middleweight was a big mistake.
"At the end of the day, he should have taken the fight with me way back when because if he had a chance to beat me, it would have been back then.
"He has no chance of beating me now, especially when I’m getting all this confidence, stepping into my prime."
Despite campaigning mostly at middleweight and super middleweight, Alvarez has ventured to 175lbs where his record stands at one win and one loss.
His first fight at light heavyweight in 2019 was against WBO champion Sergey Kovalev who was knocked out in the eleventh session of their 12-round bout in Las Vegas.
Three years later, Alvarez attempted to become champion at light heavyweight once more when he faced WBA titleholder Dmitry Bivol who claimed a unanimous decision win.
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