Andrade Doubts Canelo Will Face Him or Benavidez at 168
On November 25, former Olympian and two-division champion Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade (32-0, 29 KO’s) will test his might versus David “The Mexican Monster” Benavidez. Even though neither holds a title in the division, there are numerous fans and insiders who argue that this fight will crown the unofficial king of the super middleweight division. This is despite the fact that Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KO’s) reigns as undisputed super middleweight champion.
To begin, there is the very legitimate argument that Canelo has avoided both men for years. In Andrade’s case, considering his proven skill and pedigree, Alvarez has managed not to fight him for numerous years, and over three divisions. Also, instead of scalping them in the ring, Canelo managed to acquire both, Andrade and Benavidez’s titles, after boxing politics wrestled the belts from their grip.
THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE?
When the WBO 154-pound title was owned by Andrade, Canelo repeatedly stated he had no interest in the trinket. Regardless of those words though, once Boo Boo was stripped of the belt for inactivity back in 2015, Alvarez had no problem facing Liam Smith for the exact same hardware.
By the same token, when the redhead moved up and began his assault on the 168-pound division, David Benavidez was widely considered the man at the top of the hill. Unfortunately for Benavidez however, he was stripped of his title for missing weight in his bout versus Roamer Angulo.
This opened a lane for Canelo to gobble up the vacant title in an easy trouncing of Callum Smith. Despite fight fans wanting to see the fight, and Benavidez maintaining himself as Canelo’s mandatory for the last couple of years, the redhead has never seen fit to face The Mexican Monster.
BEEN HERE BEFORE
So it should come as no surprise that Andrade was not over-awed with Canelo’s recent domination of Jermell Charlo. For his money, as the bigger, more talented fighter, he did what he was supposed to do against the talented, smaller fighter.
Feeling that he’s poked sufficient holes in Alvarez’s resume, Boo Boo is adamant that his match with Benavidez will shine a light on the true kingpin of the division. Unsurprisingly, as he explained to The Last Stand Podcast with Brian Custer, Andrade doesn’t have much faith in who the redheaded undisputed champion contracts a fight with next.
“[I see him fighting] somebody small, out of his weight class, so he can be like, ‘This Canelo – Nobody beats this Canelo! I’m 168-pounds, he’s 147-pounds, he comes up, nobody beats this Canelo!’”
