Floyd Mayweather has taken a pop at former opponent Canelo Alvarez, by stating he believes the Mexican is ducking super middleweight contender David Benavidez.
Mayweather and Canelo locked horns all the way back in 2013, with ‘TBE’ proving to be too good for the then 23 year old and boxing his way to a decision victory.
Since that night, Canelo has established himself as arguably the biggest star in the sport and currently holds all four world titles at 168lbs.
However, in a clip shared by FighterIQ, Mayweather claimed that his one time foe was hiding from a fight with the unbeaten Benavidez.
“If it was up to me, we want to see Benavidez. Canelo’s a hell of a fighter, but in my personal opinion, he’s ducking Benavidez. This is my personal opinion, and I’m allowed to speak my mind.”
“We want to see Benavidez – let’s make it happen.”
Canelo has been linked to a meeting with Benavidez incessantly over raw the past couple of years, however has more pressing matters at hand, with his fight against mandatory challenger John Ryder announced last week for May 6th
The contest will take place at Akron Stadium in Guadalajara and will be the first time Canelo has fought in his native Mexico since 2011.
Although not well known by fans on the west side of the Atlantic, Ryder is a solid operator and recently scored a career best win over former Alvarez opponent Danny Jacobs.
That said, Canelo is a firm favourite to get past the Brit and set up a mouthwatering rematch with Bivol for the second half of 2023.
As for Benavidez, he takes on former Canelo opponent Caleb Plant this weekend at the MGM Grand, with the winner thought to be a shoe in for a world title shot.