Canelo recently defended his unified super-middleweight titles with a wide points win over Edgar Berlanga. The Mexican superstar has avoided serious negotiations with Benavidez for some time now, and the tension between them has been building.
Shields shared her thoughts in an interview with FightHub TV. She said:
"If you can fight against Berlanga you can fight against Benavidez, who is better than Berlanga, that's what we're saying. He's more dangerous than Berlanga, he has more experience, he has fought against more world champions. When it comes to size too, it's somebody who wants to fight you, who thinks he can beat you, someone who disrespected you."
Benavidez recently moved up to light-heavyweight and beat Oleksandr Gvozdyk on his debut. He hasn't ruled out coming back down to challenge Canelo. Shields views Benavidez as more dangerous and experienced than Berlanga.
The undisputed champion added:
"I think Canelo is the man, I like the way he fights, he's been around for a long time, got great skills, I like the guy. Us, the fans, just want you to put Benavidez in his place. Benavidez taking all this trash to the king, you letting him. Nah, beat him up, shut him up. That's what I want to see."
Canelo has previously named an eye-wateringly high price of $200m to take the fight. He's also named Dmitry Bivol as his preferred next opponent, likely wanting to avenge his 2022 light-heavyweight title loss.
Shields can't pick a winner between Canelo and Benavidez. She explained:
"I think it's a hell of a fight and I think they both have their strong points on how they can beat each other. I think Benavidez will force Canelo to fight differently because Benavidez will be all over him."
The boxing world waits to see if Canelo will take on the challenge of Benavidez or pursue other options in his illustrious career.