By: Sean Crose
How badly does super middleweight terror David Benavidez want a piece of undisputed divisional champion Canelo Alvarez? So much so that he took to Instagram on Friday to mention Saudi Arabian sports great Turki Alalshikh.
“@turkiaalshik,” posted 28-0 candidate Benavidez, “bring the biggest and most exciting fight to Saudi Arabia. This would be the biggest Mexican-American vs. Mexican-American fight in boxing history and what better place to do it than the Kingdom for the whole world to see. This war is for pride and glory. I fight for greatness, not for money. Sir if I don’t beat Canelo I will donate my entire wallet to any children’s charity you like. When I defeat Canelo, I will donate a huge amount of that money to help children suffering from hunger around the world. I am the people’s champion and will continue to fight hard! I stand by my words! @premierboxing @wbcboxing @wbcmoro“
It’s worth noting that Canelo hasn’t shown much interest in facing Benavidez, at least not right now. After that, Canelo was criticized again for “avoiding” Gennady Golovkin many years ago. He ended up fighting the man three times, winning two of the three (although most felt Golovkin won the first fight). In other words, even though he’s not fighting Benavidez right now (Canelo will fight Jaime Munguia in May), he could face strong opposition later.
Not that Benavidez or the fans are happy about that. After all, Canelo-Benavidez is one of the biggest fights made in the sport. Furthermore, Benavidez will obviously be the next to face the legendary Canelo. If Canelo fails to retain the championship, it could be a completely different story. However, the red-haired star was still holding on tight to her belt.
Saudi Arabia has become a hotbed for high-level boxing due to the country spending a lot of money on the sport, which clearly makes the Middle Eastern Kingdom a logical destination. However, Canelo seems to still want to compete in the US and Mexico. Suffice it to say, Canelo recently stated that he would need to be paid very well if he wanted to fight Benavidez in the ring. “If I work with a certain promoter,” he said Combat Center“came to me and said, ‘I’m offering you $150 or $200 million,’ that’s the only reason I fought him,”
