Via Sean Jones: Promoter Eddie Hearn said he views David Benavidez as a bigger fight for Canelo Alvarez in the future than the current one against Jermall Charlo.
31-year-old WBC middleweight champion Charlo has battled with lackluster opposition since his promotion to 160 and is about to put in a terrible performance against Juan Macias Montiel last June.
Arena boss Hearn thinks WBC middleweight champion Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs) won’t be as big of a deal to boxing fans as the showdown between Canelo and Benavidez. However, Hearn is NOT in a hurry to make the Canelo-Benavidez fight in 2022.
Instead, Canelo is up against 175lb WBA champions Dmitry Bivol and the lackluster 40-year-old Gennadiy Golovkin, who are said to have been playing it safe against a weak opponent since 2018.
With that said, Hearn said he wants to see undefeated WBC No 1 contenders Benavidez (25-0, 22 KOs) and Charlo both prove themselves before taking on Canelo.
Hearn feels that no guy has beaten anyone famous in their careers, and he wants to see them land a signature win before facing Canelo.
Canelo’s next opponent on May 7, WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, has only ONE significant win on his record in Joe Smith Jr. in March 2019.
However, Bivol is having a fight with Canelo because he is in possession of the 175-lb WBA title, and the Mexican star is waist hungry to help build his legacy.
In contrast, Benavidez and Charlo have nothing to offer Canelo in terms of titles. What they do have is a much larger US fan base than Bivol, and a press champion that Canelo has beaten at 168th place since 2018.
Hearn wants Benavidez & Charlo to prove themselves
Canelo promoter Hearn wants Benavidez and Charlo to beat the top guys to get them a spot against Canelo, but what he doesn’t mention is that the divisions they play in are mostly understaffed. power.
The only notable name for Benavidez to fight at 168 is Caleb Plant, but he has always shown NO interest in fighting the former two-time world champion. Moreover, even Canelo never showed any desire to fight Benavidez.
Had Hearn put up a fence for Charlo and Benavidez to jump over so they could face Canelo, the match wouldn’t have happened with the Mexican star.
Instead, Canelo will continue to fight titleholders, whom American boxing fans know little about and don’t want to see him fight. No one is asking Canelo to take on 175-lb WBA champion Dmitry Bivol right now.
The fighters that fans want to see Canelo fight at the age of 175 are the killers of Artur Beterbiev and Joe Smith Jr. So why doesn’t Canelo fight them? The answer is too obvious. Those guys are good and will likely defeat Canelo which is why they didn’t fight him on May 7th.
“I judge both of you,” Eddie Hearn said Fighthype when asked if Bivol is a tougher challenge than David Benavidez for Canelo Alvarez. “It’s hard for those guys. Even Bivol, in his outstanding victory, easily defeated Joe Smith, who [now] is WBO [175] The champion of the world.
“Now, tell me a win that Benavidez had or [Jermall] Charlo had of any note, and both guys have been looking pretty bad lately. But I’m not taking anything away from them, but you can’t say Jermall Charlo, middleweight is a tougher fight than Dmitry Bivol at light heavyweight. That’s impossible.
“Look at those people [Benavidez and Charlo] there’s real combat,” said Heartn. “One thing you can rest assured about, Canelo Alvarez will fight absolutely everyone, but it has to get him excited. The Benavidez War is a big fight for the future [for Canelo]”Hearn said
“Charlo, I don’t think it’s a big fight. But Benavidez is a big fight. I don’t think the fight with Charlo was a particularly big fight, but it was still a good fight. The fight with Benavidez could be a big one if that guy can just go ahead and do something.
Hearn said: “I spoke with Jose Benavidez yesterday. “They are dying for PBC to bring about a real fight.
“They are not really for Sampson Lewkowicz asking for $7 million+ against him [Demetrius Andrade] or more money or more money to fight him than Canelo.
“So do they really want to fight him?” Hearn said in response to being informed that Benavidez wanted to fight Demetrius Andrade. “Without a doubt, so are David and Jose Benavidez, so please respect them,” Hearn said.
Hearn may have put up a barricade for Benavidez to protect Canelo, but he is clearly the best boxer at 168 and has been for many years.
Ryder or Makabu option for Canelo in December
“It will definitely happen in December” if he wins in May and September and if he doesn’t get injured or anything,” Hearn said when asked how realistic it would be for Canelo to hit the third fight on a three-match 160 contract. million dollars with Matchroom Boxing / DAZN in December.
“John Ryder in London, [Ilunga] Makabu in Mexico in Guadalajara,” Hearn said of the two options for the December fight with Canelo as part of his three-fight deal in 2022. “We want that fight to be international, but let’s see what happens on May 7th.” Listen.
Sean Jones doesn’t want rain on Hearn’s parade but there is NO boxing interest in the US about the fight between Canelo Alvarez and little-known WBC heavyweight champion Ilunga Makabu or the obligatory challenger His John Ryder 168-lb WBA.
Those guys, Makabu & Ryder, aren’t registered with US fans, and it’ll be like Canelo vs Avni Yildirim again. Canelo will be better off against a talented boxer in December like Benavidez.
Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen as he works with PBC and will be part of their fight deal in 2023.
“Yes, that can happen too,” said Hearn when asked whether the contest winner Artur Betterbiev vs. Joe Smith Jr. 175 lb unified fight as an option for this year’s December fight by Canelo.
“He has an eye for being undisputed at 175, and for me, if he could become undisputed in two weight classes, he would already be a legend, but that would be it. a game changer,” Hearn said of how it would be a big deal if Canelo were to become the undisputed champion at light heavyweight.
It is highly doubtful that Canelo will agree to play the winner Beterbiev vs. Joe Smith Jr. for the third match of his $160 million contract with Matchroom & DAZN this December.
IBF/WBC light heavyweight champion Beterbiev, 37, is still young enough to concede Canelo right now which is why he has NO chance against him in December or next year. 2023.
Sean Jones is currently predicting that Beterbiev (17-0, 17 KOs) will have to wait until 2024 before he has a chance against Canelo. By that time, Beterbiev will be 39 years old, and his physical skills will have degraded enough for Canelo to have a better chance of beating him.
If they were to fight now, Beterbiev, a brutally built puncher with a steel chin, would aim for Canelo’s midsection and knock him down as he did with Oleksandr Gvozdyk and Marcus Browne.
