Benavidez is confident that he knocks Jermall Charlo smooth out!
It is no secret that Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (54-1-2, 36 KO’s) has caused quite a stir within the 168-pound division. The Mexican superstar has even vowed to become the undisputed champion of the weight class. To his credit, Canelo has already strong-armed the WBA Super and WBC World Super Middleweight titles. Next up is his WBC mandatory Anvi “Mr. Robot” Yildirim (21-2, 12 KO’s) and then he will face WBO World Super Middleweight champion “Superb” Billy Joe Saunders (30-0, 14 KO’s).
There are a great many folks in the boxing world who are enamored with Alvarez’s projected fight schedule. The redhead easily outclassed Callum “Mundo” Smith to claim the WBA and WBC titles on December 19. His fight with Yildirim is on the books for February 27 and the Saunders bout is set to take place early in May. Provided that all goes as planned, Canelo will have fought three times in roughly a five month span.
Not everyone is so tickled with how Alvarez is moving though. For one, former WBC World Super Middleweight champion David “Red Flag” Benavidez (23-0, 20 KO’s) is far from impressed. There is no doubt that Benavidez would want the heavily coveted showdown with the redhead. The former two-time world champion feels that he has more than enough tools to knock the popular fighter off his perch. At the same time, Red Flag is not belly-aching about his situation too badly. Ahead of his last outing against Roamer Alexis Angulo, Benavidez lost this title on the scale. It was the second time that he had lost his belt outside the ring.
I WANT THE HIT MAN!
As it stands, Red Flag is one of many fighters who find themselves on the outside of the Canelo sweepstakes looking in. In an effort to make lemonade out of his sour position, Benavidez is aiming to make the best of his situation. At the moment, he is lined up to tangle with Ronald “Akeem” Ellis (18-1-2, 12 KO’s) on March 13. Provided that he gets past Ellis, the Arizonan has his eyes set on WBC World Middleweight champion Jermall “Hit Man” Charlo (31-0, 22 KO’s).
Similar to himself, Charlo has unsuccessfully called for a Canelo bout for years. Now that Alvarez has made his exodus from the middleweight division that bout appears as unattainable as ever. Since neither of them has been able to secure the major prizefights that they desire with Canelo, Benavidez thinks they are the next best matchup. In a recent interview with Barbershop Conversations, Red Flag outlined his feelings in a bit greater detail.
“That’s a great fight, honestly that’s another fight that I don’t have to go after Canelo no more! I don’t have to go after Caleb Plant now, I think that me and Charlo are both in the same kind of position. Where we want to get these other fighters but we don’t have belts, so the best thing that we could do is fight each other. And I feel like that is the best thing especially for our promotional company, it’d probably be the best thing that could happen right now. I think it’ll be one of the biggest fights of the year. So if it can happen I am all for it!”
IN HOUSE BUSINESS
Outside of merely wanting the showdown with Charlo, Benavidez loves his chances to beat him. Make no mistake though, Red Flag has a great deal of respect for the Hit Man. He is well aware of his skill and power. However, like any confident boxer, Benavidez simply believes in himself more!
“He’s a good fighter but I will knock his ass out! I mean he has power, I have power too. So let’s see who gets who first, you know. I’m not scared of nobody, I feel like I have a lot more tools than him but he’s also good. He’s a dangerous fighter too. This is the type of fights I want to be in, these 50/50 fights. I want to be in these fights where people don’t know if I’m going to win or if I’m not. I feel like that’s going to bring the best out of me.”
One of the best potential aspects of this would-be brawl is that fact that competing promotional companies will not be a factor. This is because both Benavidez and Charlo are aligned with the PBC. So, as long as the two principles characters in this equation maintain their current energy, the boxing public should be getting one hell of a fight later in the year!
“It should be fairly easy. If I want it and he wants it, we’re both with PBC, Premier Boxing Champions, we’re both Al Haymon fighters. So I mean why can’t it be an easy fight to make? He said, I just seen a video, he said let’s make it for Cinco de Mayo, but obviously I can’t do that because I already got March 12th. But I told him in September we can do it, I’m all for it for September. So, I mean if he really is a man about his word, I’m a man about my word, that’s a fight that I am willing to take right away.”
By: Bakari Simpson
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