Canelo recently reclaimed his undisputed status at 168 pounds. On May 3, he beat William Scull by unanimous decision, taking back the WBC, WBA, WBO, and IBF titles. The 34-year-old Mexican star from Guadalajara isn't slowing down either. He's set to face Terence Crawford on September 12 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, in what many consider the biggest fight in boxing right now.
But Benavidez has his sights set on Canelo too. In a recent interview on ALL THE SMOKE FIGHT with Andre Ward, Benavidez shared his thoughts on why Canelo hasn't agreed to fight him yet.
I don't think any fighter is scared either but I feel like he knows that it's the toughest fight and that in his head he potentially knows that he could lose, that's what I know, I know that for a fact.
Benavidez didn't stop there. He made a bold prediction about what would happen if they did face off:
That's why I know he's not taking this fight, I don't think that he's scared of me, I think he will fight me, but he knows that if he loses this fight then he's probably gonna retire. So that's a big if for him.
Frustrated by his inability to land the Canelo fight, Benavidez recently moved up from super-middleweight to light-heavyweight. He now holds the WBC title at 175 pounds and will soon announce his first title defense.
The boxing world waits to see if Benavidez's prediction will come true, or if Canelo will prove him wrong. One thing's for sure - a clash between these two champions would be a must-watch event for boxing fans everywhere.