David Benavidez is willing to do whatever it takes for a Canelo fight
Two-time super middleweight champion David “Red Flag” Benavidez (25-0, 22ko) is the one fighter nobody wants to see in the division. After dispatching of replacement fighter Kyrone “Shut it down” Davis, the two-time champion called out the undisputed kingpin Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Moreover. He is even willing to go up light heavyweight, if necessary.
In the post-fight interview, Benavidez was asked about two extremely significant questions. What is his next move, and what would Alvarez’s thoughts be on his dominating performance? Red Flag gave a response that got the hometown crowd excited.
“I think it’s an easy question. Everybody wants to see me against Canelo, right? I don’t really care what his (Canelo) assessment is, but they keep putting these contenders in front of me. My last fight was a WBC title eliminator…They need to give me that opportunity. I’ll go through anybody, whoever they want me to go through.”
It was not the first time he echoed those sentiments. The Arizona native, in an interview with Fight Hub TV, revealed his willingness to do whatever it takes to make that fight happen. He has no qualm with fighting WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo and former foe two-time WBC champion Anthony Dirrell.
“To be honest, everybody wants that fight, but if they want me to go through all those guys, that’s what I’ll do! I’ll fight Anthony Dirrell again, and I’ll fight Charlo too, if that’s what needs to happen for me to fight Canelo.”
WILLING TO GO TO LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
In 2020, Red Flag made the biggest mistake of his career by missing weight for his fight with Roamer Alexis Angulo. It was extremely costly because the title became vacant, opening the door for Alvarez to swoop right in and begin his journey towards becoming the first-ever undisputed super middleweight champion.
The two-time champion believes he has the power to make Canelo respect him more than any of his other opponents. In an interview with Fighthype, Benavidez elaborated more on his skill set that would cause trouble for the undisputed champion.
“I got a lot of power too, and I throw punches in bunches, and I don’t get tired. So I think that is the best thing about me: my stamina is crazy.”
Okay, here is where Benavidez shows how committed he is in trying to get the Alvarez fight. He hinted at moving up to light heavyweight, and fighting for a title, in case Alvarez decides to try and conquer that division next.
“I have been thinking about that lately. So maybe we probably do that too. But we got to sit around and see what the best option is and go with that. If it’s 175, then fuck it, we’ll go up to 75.”
By: Garrisson Bland
