A fight between Saul ‘Canelo‘ Alvarez and David Benavidez looks further away than ever.
Benavidez, the youngest super-middleweight champion in history, looked to win back a world title by fighting to a mandatory spot for Canelo, who has largely dominated the division since moving up in 2018.
Despite winning the WBC Interim belt, Benavidez failed to force the fight, with Canelo saying he ‘brings nothing to the table’ and slapping a $200 million price tag on the bout.
READ: Terence Crawford Made to Swallow Bitter Pill Over Canelo Alvarez Fight Conditions
In order to push forward in his campaign, Benavidez has now moved up to light-heavyweight and looks unlikely to drop back down. Though Alvarez has fought twice in that division, a jump up to face Benavidez looks unlikely for now. Why?
Speaking to The Ring Magazine, the unified super-middleweight champ was asked if ‘disrespect’ from Benavidez factored into his decision not to pursue the fight.
“Yeah. You know, at this point I fight with everybody, with champions, with all the best. When somebody approach you like that, and call you out like that, you don’t need to give them money. Like I say, I can do whatever I want. I just don’t like the way he approaches taking the fight.”
Benavidez calling Canelo ‘a f***ing pussy’ in his latest interview won’t help matters.
In contrast, the Mexican superstar believes Terence Crawford, who is now reported to be very close to landing the bout, has called him out in the correct way.
“He’s wanted the fight and being respectful. ‘I want Canelo.’ He’s saying nothing bad about me.”
Canelo did not rule out facing Benavidez in the future.
“You never know. Maybe someday I wake up and I say I want to beat this guy.”
For now, though, he appears to be closing in on announcing a fight against Crawford for later this year. The American will have to move up two divisions from his last outing for the pleasure.