Mexican superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez 60-2-2 (39) might be the undisputed champion of the world at 168-pounds, but there is one man he will not beat: David ‘El Monstruo’ Benavidez 28-0 (24).
That is the firmly held view of retired former world champion turned pundit Shawn Porter.
The 26-year-old Benavidez from Phoenix, Arizona impressed with his sixth-round knockout of former two-weight world champion Demetrius ‘Boo Boo’ Andrade 32-1 (19) at Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 25.
Benavidez took a few rounds to figure out tricky southpaw Andrade, 35, of Providence, Rhode Island, but once he did it was one-way traffic. Benavidez rolled over Andrade like a runaway train, dropping him in the fourth and beating him up for two more rounds before the fight was stopped.
“Benavidez is in a class of his own. Me personally, I saw it, but I never accepted it, maybe. This fight right here, he just showed that he’s superior to anyone at 168,” Porter said to K.O. Artist Sports.
That includes Alvarez, 33, who has been a permanent feature on all reputable pound-for-pound lists for years.
“Nobody can challenge [Benavidez] at 168 and don’t even ask me. No, nobody can challenge him at 168. Y’all know what that means. He’s a complete package,” Porter continued.
“You can’t get to him and if you do, you’re going to take some on your way out. What you take on your way out is more than likely what you left going in. Outside of that, he’s strong, he’s big, he’s physical. Mentally, he’s connected to it.”
Benavdiez has long coveted a shot at Alvarez, who is currently considering his options for his regular May date. Porter says Benavidez might just be too dangerous to get the call up, but it’s not the only big fight he doesn’t see happening.
“It’s hard not to put him in your top three in the pound-for-pound list. I don’t think we’ll ever see Canelo vs Benavidez. I don’t. Me personally. I’m still holding onto it. I don’t think we’re going to see Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk,” said Porter.
“It’s scheduled, but I don’t think we see it. My spirit tells me that we don’t see either of those fights. Tyson Fury and Canelo Alvarez, they’ve done a lot. He’s done twice as much as Tyson Fury has done.”
Trainer Joel Diaz doesn’t see Alvarez accepting the challenge of Benavidez either.
“With that kind of performance, it’s going to be harder,” Diaz said to FightHype.
“Canelo is a strong fighter, but when he fought John Ryder, he didn’t look too good because Ryder was an opponent for six or seven rounds. Facing a David Benavidez who keeps coming, strong, and big, it’s going to be tough for Canelo to give Benavidez the opportunity.”
Diaz cited Alvarez’s points loss to WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol 21-0 (11) as an example.
“After the Bivol fight we were expecting Canelo to say, ‘as a Mexican that I am, let’s run it back, let’s do it again and prove to the people that I can beat this guy’, but he never did,” said Diaz.
“What he did was he went around and cut corners. He avoided to this day. He keeps avoiding Dmitry Bivol. Well, it’s understandable, right? He knows he can’t beat him. At 168 or 175, he will not beat Dmitry Bivol, so he’s the last one on his list.”
