David Benavidez says if Canelo Alvarez doesn’t retire, he should fight him, Artur Beterbiev, or Dmitri Bivol. He states that there are no other notable fighters for Canelo (63-3-2, 39 KOs) to fight at 168.
Benavidez points out that no one asked Canelo, 35, to fight Terence Crawford in their ‘Fight of the Century’ fight on September 13, 2025. They wanted to see Canelo fight these fighters:
- David Benavidez
- Artur Beterbiev
- Dmitry Bivol
Canelo’s 168 options Dry up
‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez says the only guys left in super middleweight are fighters like Christian Mbilli, Jaime Munguia and Diego Pacheco. These are not big fights for Canelo.
Benavidez did not mention Osleys Iglesias, who may be the best in the 168-lb division, or a rematch with Crawford. Canelo will probably lose much worse to Iglesias because he is a true super middleweight with power. This would be a nightmare for Canelo.
A second fight between Canelo and Nebraska native Crawford will interest fans who enjoy chess matches with little action. However, it is unknown if Turki Alalshikh will want to invest a massive amount of money in a rematch after how boring their fight was last September. It was so terrible to watch.
Crawford will likely want a raise from the $50 million he made last time, and Canelo may also want his wallet bumped up. Both fighters’ performances were at the level of boxers who are made in the thousands, not millions.
No one asked Crawford
“Everybody always says I hate Canelo. But if he doesn’t retire, he has to fight the fights that people want to see him fight,” said David Benavidez. Fight Hub TV. “No one wanted to see him fight Crawford.”
Turki Alalshikh was the one who wanted the Canelo vs. Crawford fight. This was his fight, and boy was it bad. The undercard fights were better. Fans didn’t ask Canelo to defend against Crawford. What made Turki’s decision even worse is that he spent so much money using the 38-year-old Crawford, who is close to retirement, rather than a younger fighter like Benavidez to be the one to fight Canelo.
Turki backed the wrong horse
Why throw money into a fighter at the end of his career, that the fans didn’t want to see in the first place? It was a bad decision all around. Turki should have used Benavidez because he will fight for at least another 10 years.
“No disrespect to Crawford, but people wanted to see him (Canelo) fight Bivol again. People wanted to see him fight me,” Benavidez said of Canelo. “So if he’s not going to retire. What fights is he going to get? What fights are left for him at 168? Munguia, Mbilli and Pacheco? There are no fights for him.”
Benavidez has left fans wanting to see Canelo fight Bivol again. There is no great demand among Americans for Canelo vs. Bivol again. It will also be a dull fight because Bivol has a defensive style, and he is boring to watch. In addition, he soundly beat Canelo by a 12-round unanimous decision on May 7, 2022 by scores of 115-113, 115-113 and 115-113.
The Beterbiev/Bivol request
“If he comes back, he has to fight one of us. He has to fight Beterbiev, Bivol or me,” Benavidez said of Canelo.
Last updated on 17/11/2025
