Every time I see Benavidez putting a beating on some guy I can't help but think "Well, that's why". Canelo wanted nothing to do with this guy for the past five years. We heard "I don't want to battle a fellow Mexican" that is, unless they are crude brawlers in Chavez Jr. or Mungia. Then it was "his resume sucks" while facing off against Ryder, Munguia, Berlanga, Scull. Canelo clearly was willing to face Bivol only because it came with a built in excuse. Canelo has been overrated for a long time, but the fact that he was on p4p lists while not even being the best in his division is crazy. Gun to my head I'm picking Benavidez all the way back to 2020. The existence of Benavidez makes the Crawford-Canelo parade look so goddamn lame in hindsight. Imagine Benavidez going back down to 168 to face Crawford... Benavidez has already dominated 3 of the top 10 guys at 175. The only man who can stop him now seems to be Bivol as Beterbiev is too old. Cash cow bull**** robbed David of glory at 168 - I hope he gets his shot at greatness with an undisputed clash at 175.
Canelo vs Benavidez could have happened in 2020, but Benavidez failed to make weight against Angulo and was stripped.
I like Canelo and rate him relatively highly but there are no lies in this post and youve outlined the situation well. Its one of the worst ducks in modern boxing history.
I would go further and say its the biggest duck in boxing history, when you factor in it was the biggest fight in the sport, and the most lucrative for Canelo, and for how long he ducked him. There have been other ducks but they did not have the same demand and energy behind them. This was just epic in every way. Canelo was smart because he knew David was a horrible match up for him the instant he saw him fight imo. Fighters know what's up better than their fans most of the time.
Canelo doesn't like high octane, volume punchers (nor super slick technicians). Especially ones that rehydrate as much as David (karma would be a beach! Ha!) and sits at 6 ft 2! I can envision it now, Benevidez would be pinging Canelo's head in the corner. I genuinely don't think Canelo makes it to the 12th. Tbf to Canelo, I wouldn't want that smoke at his age as I'm on the way out, 3-5 year plan; cashing in my retirement cheques (100s of millions). At least he's ducked the fight and not (yet!) "marinated" the fight to kingdom come hell (a la Mayweather v Pacman).
It should have happened when Canelo became undisputed after Plant. If anyone deserved to beat Canelo, it was Benavidez not Bivol (no offense to him). Benavidez should have been listed as top p4p for years now. Instead people question his resume because he was denied a shot at the greats, despite being excellent in the ring.
I still think its funny when people say that Benavidez would have stopped Canelo. Even today Canelo has one of the best defenses in boxing, and his chin is pure iron. There is no one in the sports who can physically overwhelm him once he goes fully on the defensive. Here is a good highlight of how hard it is to land a sustained volley of punches on Canelo. This content is protected I know Plant clinched a lot, but if someone like him can go 12 rounds with Benavidez then so can Canelo.
I don't usually agree with the idea of a duck but for sure Canelo avoided Benavidez like DB was an Aztec searching for Canelos heart.
You really comparing those basic bivol combinations to the ones David does? Bivol was just punching in one spot over and over. David is way more creative and hits harder. That Bivol stuff was pitty patter.
I was trying to highlight my point, I apologize for giving a visual representation of what I meant. This is Benavidez at his best at 168, I am supposed to believe that he will hit Canelo at will with combinations and stop him? PS, Benavidez mainly threw single shots in the 12th round here, the round you said Canelo wouldn't even see. This content is protected
Canelo avoided a high-risk/low-reward fight against Benavidez to cash out in a $150 million fight at the end of his career as he was fading. He'd have been lucky to get 20% of that for Benavidez, since few people outside the US have heard of him. Netflix definitely wouldn't have picked up anyway. It was purely business. He went for Crawford, thinking he'd be too big for him, and it backfired. So the choices were Benavidez for 25/30 mil or a career welterweight for nine-figures. I don't know anyone who would pick the former. Canelo has fought Golovkin, Kovalev, Bivol, and Mayweather—he has fought them all. The idea that he would avoid anyone is pretty wild to me—his resume towers over Benavidez's. Morrell & Gvodzyk both lasted the 12 rounds, too, so David isn't invincible. I'd have favoured him to beat Canelo, from 2022 onwards, but not by that much.