A fight between Canelo and David Benavidez is one of the most called for in the sport, with many of the opinion Benavidez poses the toughest test at super middleweight for the holder of all four world titles.
After successfully defending his undisputed status against mandatory challenger John Ryder earlier this month, droves of fans of social media have demanded Canelo to fight Benavidez next, although a rematch with Dmitriy Bivol appears more likely.
When asked for his opinion on the potential fight, hall of famer Andre Ward admitted to FightHype that he can understand why Canelo may not be overly keen for a meeting with ‘The Mexican Monster’, with Ward making Benavidez the favourite.
“There’s a reason Canelo hasn’t fought him, and nobody likes fighting a guy that has a lot of output like that – especially when you’re a fighter who doesn’t have a lot of output.”
“Canelo’s economical with his punches, he relies a lot on power, timing, skill. He’ll let guys waste their energy and then he’ll come on.”
“So nobody really wants to fight a dude like Benavidez, and you have to factor in his height and reach. Plus he’s not a scared fighter, he’s looking for the smoke. So that’s a lot to contend with.”
“If they fought, I know Canelo will come ready. But I think you’ve got to lean towards Benavidez. With his output, I’d like to see how Canelo deals with that.”
Benavidez holds the WBC interim title, meaning Canelo, who holds the full version of the strap, will have to face him at some point or vacate the belt.
With a second meeting with Bivol seemingly more likely for the pound for pound star, it looks like Benavidez will have to bide his time.