Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez might face his toughest challenge yet. Oscar De La Hoya, the boxing expert and Canelo's former promoter, thinks David Benavidez could be the first to knock out the Mexican champion.
Canelo, the 34-year-old unified super-middleweight champion, has never been knocked down in his 65 professional fights. He's faced hard hitters like James Kirkland and beaten top names such as Gennady Golovkin, Shane Mosley, and Miguel Cotto. His only losses came from smart boxing by Floyd Mayweather and Dmitry Bivol.
But De La Hoya sees something different in Benavidez. The 27-year-old former two-time super-middleweight champion has a perfect record of 29 wins with 24 knockouts. He's known for his all-action pressure fighting style.
Speaking to Fight Hub TV, De La Hoya explained his prediction:
"I think he knocks him out. Benavidez is a monster. He throws literally an average of above 50 to 55 punches a round. Canelo and Charlo, in the first round they threw one punch. Combined. I'm not talking to you as 'oh I hate Canelo or oh I hate Benavidez,' no I'm talking [as] a boxing expert. Those are the facts. That's reality on paper. Now, what happens in the ring when the bell rings? If Canelo lands that one bomb that he always throws, the right hand, I mean it's sayonara. It's game over for Benavidez. But I think Benavidez, because he's young, strong, very versatile and throws a lot of punches, he's gonna cause problems for Canelo."
De La Hoya pointed out Benavidez's high punch output as a key factor. He also noted what he sees as a decline in Canelo's performance, citing the low punch count in the early rounds of Canelo's fight with Charlo.
Benavidez has been chasing a bout with Canelo for some time. He fought his way into a mandatory position for Canelo's WBC belt, but no order was made. Now, Benavidez has moved up to light-heavyweight with a new strategy: win all the belts at 175lbs to entice Canelo into a fight.
The former two-time super-middleweight champion plans to face the winner of the upcoming undisputed light-heavyweight contest between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev.
While De La Hoya's prediction is bold, it's worth remembering that boxing is unpredictable. Canelo has proven his toughness time and again. Whether this potential matchup happens and how it might unfold remains to be seen.
