Undisputed super-middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez is already being asked what is next? The two most talked about potential opponents are Terence Crawford and David Benavidez, and Canelo’s long-time promoter has now revealed whom he believes to be higher in the pecking order.
Canelo silenced doubters with a dominant win against fellow Mexican Jaime Munguia last weekend, dropping his 43-0 countryman for the first time in his career on the way to a comfortable unanimous decision win.
Although, the Mexican that fans around the globe are demanding Canelo to face has now moved up to light-heavyweight, following Benavidez’s frustration at being unable to land the fight with Alvarez despite holding the position of mandatory challenger for around two years.
Instead, Canelo has revealed that he demands $150m-$200m to fight ‘The Mexican Monster’, whilst newfound boxing catalyst Turki Al-Alshikh has declared his plans to stage a showdown between Canelo and Terence Crawford by the end of the year – meaning ‘Bud’ would need to jump up three weight-classes from his most recent contest.
In an interview with Fight Hub TV, Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn spoke on Canelo’s ambitions to make the best fights, before stating his belief that Alvarez would rather face Benavidez than Crawford, with the latter appearing to be a lose-lose for the veteran super-middleweight champion.
“When I met Saul, he wasn’t crazy on that [Crawford] fight. He just felt that you have got a welterweight coming up to light-middleweight, going up to super-middleweight and that he wouldn’t get any credit for that win.
“Everyone would say ‘you are fighting a 147lber, [you should be winning]’, but Crawford is really, really good and I think Saul likes fighting now. That’s why I think he liked the Munguia fight, because he knew that was a guy that would come at him and attack him, he is not going to be moving around, chasing around the ring, I don’t think that he is mad [keen] on those kinds of fights.”
“As Saul has made it very, very clear – money is pretty much the only motivator for him right now. I guess the challenge as well, but he was pretty honest in that respect wasn’t he, in that if the money is right then he will do anything.
“I think that if the money is right, honestly, he will fight anyone. I don’t think that Crawford is a guy that he would necessarily be picking. I think that he would pick Benavidez over Crawford because he knows he would get the credit for that victory, whereas he might not for fighting a guy that is three or four divisions lower.”
Benavidez will return to action on June 15th, taking on Oleksandr Gvozdyk on the undercard of Gervonta Davis’ apparent grudge match with Frank Martin at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
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