David Benavidez hasn’t stopped calling out Canelo Alvarez. He has chased the fight against his fellow Mexican with no success until recently when he decided to move up in weight and came up against Oleksandr Gvozdyk at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on June 15.
Although Benavidez won a unanimous decision over twelve rounds and grabbed the WBC Interim Light Heavyweight title at stake, many observers weren't too impressed with the dreaded " Mexican Monster " on the night.
But news making rounds lately indicate that David Benavidez would like to fight Terence Crawford at 168 to avenge his brother, Jose Benavidez Jr.'s loss to him six years ago.
Benavidez doubts that Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) would come up to 168 to fight him. In October 2018, Crawford knocked out Jose Jr. in the 12th round of a competitive fight in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. Crawford wants to move up in weight to super middleweight, but only challenge unified 168-lb champion Canelo Alvarez for his three titles and the big payday that would go along with that. Crawford would just go up for the bag to get a giant payday and then retire afterward. It wouldn’t matter if Crawford lost because the money would cushion the blow, and he’d have an excuse to tell his fans. He’d blame it on moving up two divisions, ‘Daring to be great.’ “Yeah, I’ve been wanting to get it.
“I’m not even at 168 anymore, but I’d love to fight or even spar Crawford.”
Canelo Insists Crawford Would be "Easy Fight", But Wants Big Money The fans would get ripped off by watching a non-competitive fight similar to when Jermell Charlo moved up two divisions from 154 to challenge Canelo for his titles at super middleweight. Jermell, who is bigger and stronger than Crawford, was too weak for Canelo, and he looked like he didn’t even attempt to win. If Canelo Alvarez wanted to shut Crawford up for good, he’d tell him that he must earn the fight against him by facing David Benavidez first. Obviously, Crawford would never agree to that because he knows the outcome. That would end all callouts by Crawford because, as desperate as he is, he’s not crazy enough to go up to 168 and fight Benavidez. We saw Crawford’s limits as a fighter last August when he squeaked by WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov by a narrow 12-round unanimous decision. That fight showed that Crawford wasn’t the same fighter at 154 that he was in the other three weight classes he fought at. Crawford should have to move up and earn the fight against Canelo by fighting the top fighters at 168 to earn it rather than having it given to him based on his career achievements, which are not that great when you put them under a microscope to see the lesser fighters he beat.
Although Crawford is yet to react to this challenge, it's unlikely he'll show up interested; he's chasing legacy and fortune with the Canelo call out, something he might not achieve against Benavidez.
By Samuel Opoku Amoah
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