Teofimo Lopez thinks David Benavidez will beat Canelo Alvarez. The WBO super-lightweight champion shared his thoughts after watching Benavidez stop Demetrius Andrade in November.
Benavidez tried for years to get a fight with Canelo at super-middleweight. When that didn't happen, he moved up to light heavyweight. In June, he beat Oleksandr Gvozdyk for the WBC interim title. Now, he'll face WBA regular champion David Morrell in February.
Canelo still holds all the belts at 168. He just beat Edgar Berlanga by unanimous decision in September.
Lopez watched Benavidez fight Andrade and talked to Fight Hub TV about it.
"He did great. Awesome job man. I think he definitely showed that he is that guy in the division. He's so smart. The Canelo situation, it's a great match-up, great fight."
Lopez thinks Benavidez can win, but it won't be easy.
"[This version of him] beats Canelo. I like Canelo. He's a well-rounded fighter, however if Canelo is not back to being light on his fight then Benavidez can get this. Not saying it'll be easy, because Canelo is smart, he'll break his arms. If both can understand and master that then we win at the end, the fans."
The fight looks less likely to happen as time goes on. But big names in boxing keep talking about it.
Lopez just teamed up with Canelo's trainer, Eddy Reynoso. That might change how he sees the match-up. For now, he thinks Benavidez has the edge.
