Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez isn't giving in to the pressure to fight David Benavidez. The Mexican superstar has put a hefty $200 million price tag on the potential matchup.
Canelo has been unbeatable at super middleweight. He's collected the WBA, WBC, and WBO titles along the way. The IBF belt was also in his possession until earlier this year when he was stripped of it.
His journey to dominance started in 2020 when he beat Callum Smith for the WBA and WBC titles. In May 2021, he added the WBO strap by stopping Billy Joe Saunders. Six months later, he became the undisputed champion by taking the IBF title from Caleb Plant.
Now, Canelo is facing calls to fight Benavidez. But he's not budging on his steep asking price. In a recent interview, he explained why:
"All I see is that Benavidez weighs 25 or 30 pounds more than I do on the day of the fight. I have no problem with that, but if you want me to fight with him it's $200 million."
Canelo doubled down on his stance in a chat with DAZN:
"Look, I'm better than him for sure. I always fought with everybody that the people say I'm not gonna fight … If I beat him, they're gonna say another fighter, so [they] need to ask. If they really want to see the fight, pay me good."
When asked if Benavidez winning more fights would make their potential clash more valuable, Canelo seemed open to the idea. He said, "Yeah. We can wait. You seen it [with Mayweather and Pacquiao] but I don't do it for the especially."
Benavidez has never fought below 168 pounds. He's held the WBC super middleweight title twice but lost it both times - once for a positive cocaine test and once for missing weight. He's currently the mandatory challenger for Canelo's WBC title.
Recently, Benavidez moved up to light heavyweight, tired of waiting for a shot at Canelo. He's now in line to face the winner of the undisputed clash between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
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For now, Canelo is focused on his next fight. He'll defend his unified titles against undefeated contender Edgar Berlanga on September 14.