Already booked for his next venture and potentially the next unified super middleweight champion, Canelo Alvarez continues to dismiss David Benavidez’s call for a fight.
According to the coach of one of the Mexican’s greatest rivals, Gennady Golovkin, Benavidez is yet to earn the fight.
Fresh from another successful title defense against Edgar Berlanga back in September, Canelo will put his impressive five-fight winning spree on the line against William Scull at the beginning of next month.
It is likely to be followed with a huge showdown against unbeaten (41-0) light middleweight gold holder Terence Crawford in September in a deal brokered by Turki Alalshikh.
This means that despite being forever linked with the undefeated Arizona native, Canelo is unlikely to fight him in the near future. According to Golovkin’s coach Abel Sanchez, Canelo is the poster boy of boxing of his generation, and as such, he gets to decide what’s next for him.
Heaping praise on the Jalisco striker, Sanchez, who coached against Canelo on three separate occasions, said, “Benavidez has got to understand, in my opinion, he’s my friend.”
“And his father’s my friend, but I think they have to understand that he who drives the car calls the shots. You know, Canelo right now is the one that’s driving boxing- in that division anyway,” asserted Sanchez.
‼️“I don’t think Benavidez has EARNED it!”- Abel Sanchez
-Abel Sanchez explains why David Benavidez hasn’t earned the right to fight Canelo
-Says Canelo can fight whomever he likes: https://t.co/oGP9Vxj5N3 pic.twitter.com/OwG9KYTnXJ
— Fight Hub TV (@FightHubTV) April 4, 2025
“He’s the one that you, you’re gonna have to earn the right to fight him,” he added, reiterating that with the goodwill and the gold he’s accumulated, Canelo has a monopoly over such decisions.
So, is there a possibility that Canelo will finally fight Benavidez – perhaps next year?
Benavidez keen to deliver Canelo fight to please fans
Benavidez and his team have failed in their pursuit of fighting Mexican icon Canelo, but it is not due to a lack of effort.
“It’s not about the money,” Benavidez wrote on Instagram back in February about a fight with Canelo.
“It’s about what the sport needs right now. And we owe it to the fans. Without a doubt, It would go down as the best Mexican shootout in boxing history,” he added, trying to rally the fans behind him.
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After all, it’s who he claims deserves the fight that Canelo simply won’t agree to.
Improving his undefeated record to 30-0 back in February, Benavidez recorded a unanimous decision win over David Morrell to scoop the WBA light heavyweight championship.
He is now expected to take on the undisputed light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol next. Bivol, who last won the titles in a rematch against Artur Beterbiev in February, has been ordered by WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman to engage with Benavidez.
However, with a trilogy fight with Beterbiev looming large, Benavidez might have to wait out the third fight and then fight the winner when it’s done.
