WBC interim super middleweight titleholder David ‘El Monstruo’ Benavidez 28-0 (24) thinks a fight between him and undisputed 168-pound champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez 60-2-2 (39) has to happen following his sixth-round knockout win over former two-weight world champion Demetrius ‘Boo Boo’ Andrade 32-1 (19) at the Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday night.
“I knew it would be a difficult fight, but I knew I had enough to beat Demetrius Andrade,” the 26-year-old Benavidez from Phoenix, Arizona said to Fight Hub TV. “Truthfully, I feel the fight between me and Canelo should be in May 2024.
“We’re ready for this opportunity and we’ll give the fans what they want. Truthfully, both of us. He needs me, and I need him. He’s a legend in the sport and I think for me to do what I want to do in Mexican boxing, I need to fight Canelo to get to that level to be a legend in the sport. ”
Mexican superstar Alvarez, 33, trounced former undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo 35-2-1 (19) in his last outing in September. Charlo offered little resistance, losing by scores of 118-109, 118-109 and 119-108.
Benavidez says the timing is right for him to face Alvarez after his impressive showing against Andrade that saw the 35-year-old from Providence, Rhode Island on the canvas in the fourth at battered for the next two rounds before he retired on his stool.
“Truthfully, my work right now is to just fight against the best. Whoever it is who wants to fight me, we’ll be ready to fight them,” Benavidez said.
“To defend my interim WBC belt, I’ll fight all of them. It doesn’t matter. I feel like I can beat all of them, and this is what we are going to do. I feel this is the biggest fight; this is the fight that boxing needs right now.
“It’s a good fight and we’re going to keep trying to make that fight happen. We’re 100% ready for that opportunity, 100% for this fight, and give the people what they want to see.”
Alvarez typically fights twice a year, once in May and again in September. Benavidez says he will be ready for either date in 2024.
“If he wants to fight in September, then we’re ready. We’re ready for everything. It’s a very difficult fight and I would need all that time to train,” Benavidez said.
“But hey, I’m ready to get back into training and begin camp again. If he wants to do it in May or September, I’m ready for whatever.”
Alvarez has held versions of the world title from junior middleweight through to light heavyweight. He currently holds the WBC, WBA, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine championships and has lost just once in the past decade.