David Benavidez has campaigned extensively for a mega fight against Canelo Alvarez to no avail.
Alvarez, one of the prominent faces of boxing, has dismissed the bout, touting everything from not wanting to face a fellow Mexican fighter to requesting $200 million, and repeatedly reminding boxing fans that he has earned the right to call his own shots and handpick his opponents.
Unable to secure the fight thus far, Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) has had to reluctantly move on. On February 1, the undefeated WBC interim light heavyweight world champion will defend his title against WBA “Regular” light heavyweight world champion David Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and live on pay-per-view.
But does the allure of trying to become the undisputed 175-pound king outweigh the prospect of clashing with Alvarez in a super fight? At this point, the answer is yes, according to "El Monstro."
“One-hundred percent,” Benavidez told DAZN News over a recent Zoom session, before jabbing at Alvarez. “I fight for titles and I fight for accolades.
“I don’t know what Canelo is doing over there,” he continued. “He’s fighting the easiest guys he could possibly fight, but I like what’s going on at 175.
He added: “These guys, everybody in this division is fighting the best. There could only be one king.”
There has been such a clamor for the bout that Benavidez’s name was brought up throughout the promotion leading up to Alvarez’s unanimous decision win over Edgar Berlanga in September as he successfully defended his unified super middleweight titles.
That said, Canelo’s refusal — at least to this point — to entertain the fight has forced Benavidez’s hand to move forward, past the super middleweight division where he reigned as a two-time WBC titleholder, and into the light heavyweight terrain.
Now, the mission is clear — defeat Morrell early in the New Year, before challenging the winner of a likely rematch between undisputed light heavyweight ruler Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. Beterbiev rallied toward a majority decision over Bivol in their October fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Benavidez is yearning to test his skills against whomever emerges in their sequel.
“I gotta get past David Morrell, which I know I’m going to do that,” Benavidez asserted, “and then I’m going after all four belts.”