By: Sean Crose
“I took off for about three weeks,” middleweight super terrorist David Benavidez recently said Resist the hype. Now, after relaxing a bit after stopping Caleb Plant earlier this year, Benavidez is back in the gym looking for a way to fight back. “I was excited because I thought we were going to make a fight with Canelo,” he said. “I believed it was going to happen, but unfortunately, he went a different route.” Indeed, the Canelo-Benavidez fight has long been anticipated by fans. However, it is reported that Benavidez will face David Morrell next. Needless to say, that’s all news to Benavidez.
“There was no fight with Morrell,” he said. “We’re not fighting Morrell…I don’t agree with anything. I’m trying to make the big fights happen. Indeed, with Canelo at least temporarily absent, Benavidez had someone else in mind. “We want to fight Jaime Munguia,” he said, “but if we don’t catch him then maybe we will fight Morrell…there’s a lot of fake news out there.” Benavidez is openly annoyed by some of the uncertainty that comes with being a top-level contemporary fighter.
“I don’t know what’s going on,” he said, the conversation returning to undisputed super-middleweight champion Canelo. “I don’t like disrespecting the fighters…but they (Canelo’s team) didn’t even respond to the request (Benavidez’s team sent).” With so much money at stake, Benavidez has made it clear he can only come to one conclusion. “He doesn’t want to fight me…he wants to negotiate with someone who hasn’t fought in three (two) years, actually. No respect for Charlo, but he hasn’t fought in three years. His ring will rust.
Despite his willingness to repay Canelo, Benavidez feels he is indebted to one of boxing’s biggest names. “He was the best,” said Benavidez, “and I have been his man for three years fighting for the WBC title. I thought that the champions had to fight their mandatory quests. Benavidez added that at this point, he just wants Canelo to make it clear to him about the current situation. “If he doesn’t fight me,” Benavidez said, “he should let me know. I will increase to 175.” Of course, that could disappoint many fans, which Canelo is certainly aware of. “Everybody wanted to see the fight,” Benavidez said. “I think the walls are closing on him.”
