Oscar De La Hoya believes that David ‘El Bandera Roja’ Benavidez 27-0 (23) will not only defeat WBC, WBA, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine super middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez 60-2-2 (39) if they fought, but knock him out.
“I think he knocks him out, I really do,” the Golden Boy Promotions boss said to Fight Hub TV.
De La Hoya said Benavidez’s punch output alone would cause Alvarez problems, citing the Mexican superstar’s most recent fight against Jermell Charlo 35-2-1 (19) as evidence.
“Benavidez is a monster,” De La Hoya continued. “Benavidez throws an average of above 55 punches per round. Canelo-Charlo, in the first round, they threw one punch combined. So I’m just talking to you as a boxing expert. I’m not talking to you, ‘Oh, I hate Canelo. I hate Benavidez.’
“Those are the facts; those are the reality on paper. What happens in the ring, I don’t know. Just by studying and being a historian in boxing, the writing is on the wall. If Benavidez is going to throw 50 plus punches per round, guess who’s going to win?”
But De La Hoya added that Alvarez could come out victorious by knockout too.
“I’m not sure how strong Benavidez’s chin is,” he said. “It hasn’t really been tested. He’s been dropped, I think. Canelo has been rocked. So it all depends. If Canelo lands that one bomb that he always throws, the right hand, it’s game over for Benavidez.
“I think Benavidez, because he’s young, because he’s strong and he’s very versatile and throws a lot of punches, it’s going to create problems for Canelo.”
Benavidez says if he can’t get Alvarez in the ring first-up next year, he will target Cuban southpaw David Morrell 9-0 (8) who is the WBA ‘regular’ titleholder at 168-pounds.
“If that fight doesn’t happen, I’ll fight David Morrell,” Benavidez told FightHype. “That’ll be a great fight.
“My end goal is really to get all four belts at this weight class before I leave.”
Phoenix, Arizona’s Benavidez, 26, will need to get past skilled southpaw Demetrius ‘Boo Boo’ Andrade 32-0 (19) first if he wants to put himself in the Canelo sweepstakes. The pair will meet at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 25.
The 35-year-old Andrade from Providence, Rhode Island is talking a good game.
“I think you’re gonna see Demetrius Andrade at his best finesse game,” Andrade told Fight Hub TV. “My movement, my ability.”
“There’s nothing I can’t do. I can adjust, I can do a lot of things, I can fight multiple ways in seconds.”
De La Hoya expects Benavidez to have a little too much in the tank for Andrade, who will be having just his second fight in two years.
“[Andrade’s] footwork is great, [but] I think the pressure is going to be a little too much for Boo Boo. It could force a stoppage, but who knows?” De La Hoya said.
“This is exactly what I said with Canelo and Charlo. If Charlo fights the perfect fight and stays disciplined the whole night, but obviously, he didn’t show up to fight. So there was no fight whatsoever. That went out the window and my analogy went out the window.
“If Boo Boo comes to fight and doesn’t do a Charlo, if he stays disciplined and sticks to his game plan, Boo Boo’s style can frustrate anybody, but he has to stay disciplined and have great conditioning.”
