Boxing’s most anticipated fight between Canelo Alvarez and David Benavidez never happened. For three years, Benavidez was the mandatory challenger at 168 pounds, but the undisputed champion refused to fight him. When no fight materialized, Benavidez eventually moved up to light heavyweight, where he won an interim world title.
Now, the Mexican superstar says a future matchup is “impossible” because they compete in different weight classes. His excuse has brought heavy criticism from the boxing community. Critics point out that Benavidez was forced out of the super middleweight division because of Alvarez, who dodged a very possible bout every time.
Canelo Alvarez’s Weight Argument Falls Apart Due to Every Well-Documented Record
Alvarez recently defended himself against criticism, arguing he would have fought David Benavidez at 168 pounds if Benavidez had held a world title during Canelo’s undisputed run.
“When we were both at 168, I fought every champion in that division,” he said. “Why he never fight those champions? If he was a champion at that point, I fight him. My goal was being undisputed. Right now, it’s just impossible. He can come fight with heavyweights.”
His excuse doesn’t support the timeline that is already well-documented. Benavidez remained at 168 pounds until late 2024. When rumors swirled of a $55 million offer from PBC to make the fight happen, the 35-year-old publicly mocked the amount and said Benavidez “brings nothing to the table.” He even told reporters he wouldn’t fight the 29-year-old unless a promoter handed him a ridiculous, unrealistic guarantee of $150 million to $200 million.
Even after Benavidez finally gave up and fought at light heavyweight, his team sent an official letter to the WBC stating he was willing to immediately drop back down to 168 just to fight Canelo. Alvarez ignored that as well and fought Edgar Berlanga instead.
After all this drama, Canelo’s excuse to avoid Benavidez has effectively lost its merit.
David Benavidez Keeps Making His Case Bigger
While Canelo gave excuses, Benavidez extended his undefeated streak. On May 2, Benavidez stopped Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez via sixth-round TKO in Las Vegas, becoming the first person to knock Ramirez out. The win secured world titles for him in three divisions and improved his record to 32-0 with 26 knockouts.
Benavidez called out Canelo right after the bout, but the Mexican fighter had already ducked it. Instead, Canelo will face Christian Mbilli on September 12 in Riyadh to try to win back the WBC super middleweight title he lost to Terence Crawford. This bout is part of Canelo’s reported $200 million agreement with Riyadh Season.
Forbes recently ranked him second on its 2026 highest-paid athletes list with $170 million in earnings, including $160 million from fight purses. Alvarez is financially secure enough to only face the fighters he wants, rather than the ones folks want to see.
