Please. The dude got all the support in the world after he smashed Medina. And rightfully so, as it was an excellent performance. He then got an easy title shot for nothing, and he almost ****ed it up. And then what? He lost his title due to cocaine. FFS! Next up was another title shot and a brilliant performance from Benavidez. I will always look fondly on the day that Benavidez smashed Anthony Dirrell. But what happened? Benavidez missed weight and again lost his belt. Now it´s been over a year since he last fought. And the last interview I saw with him... he was talking about rematching Dirrell... Wtf? David Benavidez has been wasting everyone's time since 2018. However, if he can now get his career back on track, then it will be just in time when Canelo is likely to unify the division. He would be an excellent challenger for the next undisputed SMW king.
One of the reasons I'm not big on him is because he misses weight, and parties with drugs. Two signs that show me he may not be taking his career as serious and is not serious about reaching his full potential.
A fit and motivated Benavidez gives Canelo all he can handle and more. He's the only one with a chance at 168, provided Bivol doesn't come down and isn't weight drained if he does. Even still, Canelo's judges are tough to beat so I wouldn't favour him.
Agree with most of your post but some of you need to really lay off that "Canelo's Judges" BS. What it basically comes down to is you disagree with the Judges cards so they must be wrong.
He fought 7 months ago, that's when he missed weight. It's not good but that was one of the first Showtime bubble events and the rules didn't make a ton of sense (no sauna, no running outside). The other guy made weight, he should have too, but I'd rather watch someone moving fast and making some mistakes at a young age instead of playing it safe and stepping up for the first time 5-6 years older than he won his first belt.
Dude has been caught and he's learned (hopefully). He just made weight, so that's a good sign. And he'd get up big time for Clenelo.
I'm a big Benavidez fan. I think he is by far the best at 168. I think he would punish Callum Smith, beat Canelo, and "Plant" Caleb. That said, I think he has coasted through a few fights. This explains why he takes a lot of clean punches. His fight with Dirrell was a prime example. However, the version of Benavidez that blanked Gavril in the rematch and steamrolled J'Leon Love, is someone that nobody at 168 wants to square off with inside the four corners.
No way Canelo fights this guy, unless it’s on short notice or with serious draining hydration clauses. Without the clauses, I think he beats, possibly knocks out Canelo. Canelo wins rounds and outboxes him in stretches but I think the size difference and power would give him problems. This is the only fight I want to see at 168 so that means it’s probably the one we will never see. Benavidez vs. Bivol would be a good match. Not sure if Bivol can make 168 but it looks like Benavidez isn’t going to be at the weight for long either.
I don't see the magic in Benavidez. I might even favor Jermall to beat him. Would love to see him fight Gilberto Ramirez though. Two tall lanky guys. Ramirez would be too skilled too though.
It isn't just Canelo; any cash cow fighter will tend to get the nod even when he doesn't deserve it. If you don't factor in official corruption then you handicap your ability to make accurate predictions. We've seen several fights where Canelo has been comfortably outlanded and still got the decision because he's much more marketed and thus institutionally favoured. The 118-110 in the first Golovkin fight (a fight where he was outlanded in 10 rounds while running away) was blatantly corrupt, as was the judge who gave Canelo 6 rounds when he was outlanded 2-1 by Mayweather. And that's aside from his catchweights, rehydration clauses, short training camps for his opponents and next level juicing. He's a good fighter but no one in the sport is as institutionally protected.