David Benavidez Feels He Has The Formula To Defeat Canelo Alvarez
Former WBC World Super Middleweight world champion David Benavidez is a fighter stuck between a rock and a hard place. He lost the WBC world title when he failed to make the 168-pound weight limit before his last bout against Romar Angulo (26-2, 22 KOs) in August 2020. The vacant belt was picked up by one Canelo Alvarez (54-1-2, 36 KOs) when he defeated Callum Smith (27-1, 19 KOs) on November 19 in San Antonio, Texas. Of note, Alvarez also won the WBA ‘Super’ World Super Middleweight champion.
Now, because of his own doing and not tending to business outside the ring, the 24-year-old Benavidez is without a belt, sitting on the sidelines waiting for his next opportunity to fight for a world title.
Benavidez sat down for an online interview with Fight Hub TV to discuss his next move. Making it very clear his dream fight would be against Alvarez, he is perturbed Alvarez failed to mention him as a future opponent following the win over Smith. Currently ranked #1 by the WBC at 168-pounds, the product of Phoenix, Arizona discussed how he would go about defeating the fighter who is now the sport’s biggest cash cow.
THINKING OF A MASTER PLAN
“For one, you can’t be scared, you gotta be constant. I feel like some people… when Canelo makes them miss a couple of times they get scared. I feel like this is everything for me if I get him in the ring.
We’re definitely going to be working on so much stuff. I’ve worked on a lot of stuff already that other people don’t work on. When I throw my right hooks from a distance and get right out, who else does that? Jabs, left hooks to the body, uppercuts, there’s a lot of stuff I can do.
I gotta keep watching tape of Canelo, but you got to evolve, you gotta keep thinking, thinking. You can’t throw the same sh*t over and over again, and you can’t throw slow.
It has to be a very good game plan. But I feel we could put together something. I’m taller, I’m younger, this is my weight. I’m stronger than Canelo. I feel like I’m way stronger than Canelo. Just self-belief; if you put your mind to it, if you train hard, you can conquer anything.”
Alvarez’s sole defeat as a pro came against Floyd Mayweather Jr in 2012. Benavidez believes he can be defeated again and has the tools to pull off what would be considered an upset. Benavidez has attributes that could pose Alvarez problems with his advantages in height and reach. Plus, with punch-rate and power, you could see a scenario where he could simply outwork the unified 168-pound world champ.
But we’re talking about a Canelo Alvarez who is as experienced as any fighter currently in the sport. The 30-year-old from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, faced every conceivable style in the book and has improved leaps and bounds over the years. And for all of Benavidez’s power, Alvarez has a chin of granite. This is someone smackdab in their fighting prime.
For all the advantages Benavidez feels he has offensively, he leaves himself open defensively. That aspect of his game would have to shore up significantly if he were to fight someone who is so accurate and sharp with his punches.
It is one thing to believe that you can beat one of the elite fighters in the sport. It is a different proposition once you are in the squared circle.
An entertaining fight on paper, speculation would only be settled if these two warriors were to fight. The only question now is if, or when, Benavidez will get the chance at what he feels is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
By: Michael Wilson Jr.
