David Benavidez, the interim WBC light-heavyweight champion, keeps hoping for a fight with Canelo Alvarez. He's now sharing stories about sparring with Gennady Golovkin that make him feel sure he can win against Canelo.
Benavidez moved up to the 175-pound division after he couldn't get a fight with Canelo at super-middleweight. Now, he's getting ready to face David Morrell, the WBA regular champion, on February 1 in Las Vegas.
Meanwhile, Canelo holds the WBC, WBA, and WBO super-middleweight titles. He might fight Terence Crawford next, but fans still want to see him go up against Benavidez.
In a chat with The Miami Hustle, Benavidez talked about his time sparring with Golovkin. He said:
"The reason why I know there is no doubt in my head I beat him is because from 15 to 19 I was Golovkin's main sparring partner. My sparring sessions with Golovkin were legendary up in Big Bear. I was the best sparring Golovkin has ever had and he'll tell you that to."
Benavidez thinks he did better against Golovkin in sparring than Canelo did in real fights. He added:
"Watching the fight between Canelo and Golovkin, I had more success in those sparring sessions than Canelo. Obviously it's a sparring session but I was young, I was 19-years-old. For me to be able to go up against a great fighter like Golovkin and have so much success, that's how I know that nobody can beat me."
It's worth noting that Canelo and Golovkin fought three times. Canelo won twice, and one fight was a draw. Many people thought Golovkin should have won that first fight.
Even though Benavidez and Canelo are in different weight classes now, fans still want to see them fight. For now, Benavidez is focusing on his upcoming fight with Morrell, but he's not giving up on the idea of facing Canelo in the future.
