David Benavidez continues to make his case for a crack at Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and his undisputed super-middleweight title stronger.
The undefeated two-time champion is fresh off a stoppage victory over Demetrius Andrade in which he showcased his fan-friendly ability to consistently move forward and grind down an opponent.
On his podcast The Fight, Teddy Atlas praised ‘The Mexican Monster’s resolve in doing so.
“The punches he took, some of them were good punches by Andrade that would’ve affected a lot of other guys.
You can say well Benavidez benefitted from being bigger, he also benefited from being Benavidez – a determined, proud guy that has a constitution and mindset that he refuses to be hurt … That resolve that top guys who have great chins have to have. ‘I refuse to allow this to impact me, and if it does I’ll push past it.'”
Whilst Atlas says the punches Benavidez took in that contest had the effect of ‘raindrops on a windshield’, he doesn’t believe he can be as willing to take shots against Canelo.
“I’ll put it out there – I don’t know if he can do that with Canelo. I don’t know if he can if he ever fights Canelo. If Canelo’s gonna call himself the best Mexican and the top 168 pounder, he has to fight Benavidez to justify that.”
“Don’t think so quickly that if Benavidez fights Canelo he can just walk forward the way he did with Andrade. Because the punches that will land on him will have more consequence, they will have more impact, they will be harder.”
All the talk seems to be that Canelo will fight in May before entertaining the long-awaited Benavidez clash in September, although the next opponent for either man is yet to be confirmed.