Former world heavyweight king Mike Tyson wonders whether Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez ‘is afraid of losing’ and for that reason will not face David Benavidez.
There has been plenty of clamour for current undisputed super-middleweight king Canelo to take on Benavidez, though one issue has been size. Benavidez is a huge super-middleweight who has in fact announced he is stepping up to light heavyweight for his next fight.
Canelo himself has stepped up to that division and won a title from Sergey Kovalev, but has also moved up and taken a loss when he faced Dimitri Bivol.
Right now there are discussions regarding if he will remain with PBC after a reported split, apparently because he didn’t agree to the proposed deal that would have seen him take on young challenger Jaime Munguia on Cinco De Mayo then Benavidez in September.
When Tyson got wind of the money Canelo has turned down for these fights, he spoke frankly to Marca.
“I can’t believe what I just heard, Canelo rejected 60 million dollars to fight Benavidez, who is a tremendous fighter, young, strong, with hunger and Mexican pride. What’s wrong with Canelo? Is he afraid of losing?
“Doesn’t he want to give the fans the fight they want to see? Don’t you want to give the fans the fight they want to see? Do you not respect the legacy of the great Mexican champions who faced the best regardless of the money?
“This is a shame for boxing and for Mexico. If I were him, I would accept the fight with Benavidez and show the world that he is the best. But it seems he doesn’t have the courage to do it; It is a shame, because he has a lot of talent, but he lacks heart.”
Quite what the truth is behind the scenes, we shall have to wait and see but Canelo has not often shied away from a challenge before.