Undisputed super middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez 60-2-2 (39) needs to defend his titles against David ‘El Monstruo’ Benavidez 27-0 (23) next.
The undefeated 26-year-old Benavidez from Phoenix, Arizona has long coveted a shot at the 33-year-old Mexican champion and is widely seen as the number one challenger to his throne.
Benavidez’s father and trainer Jose Benavidez Sr says Alvarez will retire filled with regret if he never faces his son.
“Hopefully, Canelo will wake up and say ‘I want Benavidez next’ and that’ll happen right away because we want to fight him. Negotiations will not be bad. Let’s do it. We’re more focused on getting the opportunity because if we beat Canelo, the skies are the limit, Benavidez Sr said to Fight Hub TV.
“I believe there’s so much pressure from so many people. Wherever he goes, they mention David Benavidez, ‘The Mexican Monster’.
“I think they’re just tired of hearing that name. Imagine if Canelo retires and doesn’t fight David, that’s going to haunt him for life. For us, it’s not a problem. For him, can he retire knowing that he didn’t want to fight the ‘Mexican Monster?’
“Everywhere he goes, that name, it’s going to haunt him. It’s going to be there. So why not face him? He’s the face of boxing. He’s the best at 168.
“Beat him. It’ll be the biggest fight for so many years that we haven’t seen.
“It’ll be a shame [Alvarez vs Benavidez doesn’t happen], so why stress? As long as he leaves all those belts, so we can come and get them. Bye. You don’t want payday?
“He’ll get the best payday and I’m not thinking about money. I’m thinking about having him in the ring and that’s all we’re thinking of.
“I think it would be a fantasy fight. I don’t even think about Canelo. My respects, He’s done so much for boxing. They can say whatever they want to say. That doesn’t mean they want to fight. They’re just trying to buy time. They’re trying to protect him.
“Like I said, they’re so tired of hearing the ‘Mexican Monster’. He gets mad when they hear that he’s the ‘Mexican Monster’. A guy like him, he wants to be the only one. They’re panicking. Thank God, we’re not going to be in his position.
“It’ll change David’s life forever. Why focus on the money when the money will come later? We just want to get him inside the ring and we’ll do the minimum [fight purse] and whatever he’s happy with, whatever it takes to make that fight, we’re willing to do.”
The pressure on Alvarez to defend his WBC, WBA, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine 168-pound titles against Benavidez will only increase if the six-foot-two pressure fighter can defeat former two-division WBO titleholder Demetrius ‘Boo Boo’ Andrade 32-0 (19) at the Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday night.
