Canelo Alvarez is getting close to a fight with Terence Crawford, leaving David Benavidez on the sidelines. The Mexican unified champion looks set to face Crawford on September 13 in Las Vegas, despite Benavidez's efforts to secure a world title shot.
Benavidez, the youngest ever super-middleweight world champion, has been chasing a fight with Canelo for a while. He became the WBC mandatory challenger and even moved up to light heavyweight, beating Oleksandr Gvozdyk in June last year. But Canelo hasn't shown much interest.
The Mexican star has been dismissive of fighting Benavidez, saying he's got nothing to offer. Canelo even demanded $250 million for the fight, making it clear he's not keen.
Instead, Canelo's looking at Crawford, who'll have to jump up two weight classes for the fight. It's a big ask for Crawford, who's 37 and in the twilight of his career. The four-weight world champion will need to put on 14lbs to meet Canelo at the right weight.
Jose Benavidez Sr., David's father and trainer, shared his thoughts on the potential Canelo-Crawford fight with FightHype:
"I would be embarrassed to ask for that fight for David Benavidez. Benavidez is too big, Canelo is too big, I'm not interested, I don't think it's a fair fight, it's not an equal fight, Canelo is just too big for Crawford."
Many people agree with Benavidez Sr., thinking it's too much of a challenge for Crawford.
While all this is going on, Benavidez isn't sitting idle. He's got a big fight coming up this Saturday against David Morrell. Both fighters are unbeaten, so it's sure to be an interesting match-up.
The boxing world will be watching closely as these stories unfold. Will Canelo and Crawford finalize their fight? How will Benavidez perform against Morrell? The next few weeks should bring some answers.
