Benavidez Will KO Canelo – ‘Those Are The Facts’

Oscar De La Hoya is confident David Benavidez will knock out Canelo Alvarez.
That is the biggest Mexican fight that can be made, but so far, there are no signs of it happening. Benavidez was the WBC Interim Super Middleweight Champion for over two years. That put him in a position to fight Canelo when he was the Undisputed Super Middleweight Champion. However, the WBC did not enforce the mandatory, nor was Canelo stripped. Canelo ultimately vacated his IBF Super Middleweight Title by not facing his mandatory William Scull.
He chose to face Edgar Berlanga instead. Just prior to this, Benavidez moved up to 175 pounds once it became clear that Canelo was boxing Jaime Munguia. That has made the chances of the fight happening a lot less since Benavidez would have to come back down to 168 pounds, which is much more difficult. There are also question marks over whether Canelo would want a rehydration clause imposed on the Mexican Monster.
However, the rise of the Saudis in boxing has always made that fight possible since they are capable of putting up enough money to make it. Canelo did say that he would take the fight if someone offered him $150 million to $200 million. That was initially seen as a way of pricing himself out of the fight, but it also means that the Saudis know the number that has to be produced to make the fight.
De La Hoya Reacts
Canelo recently said that he is open to speaking with the Saudis about fighting in the Kingdom next year. But Benavidez has turned his attention towards becoming undisputed at 175 pounds. He will face David Morrell Jr. on February 1 in a fight between two undefeated boxers. The winner puts themselves in a position to face either Artur Beterbiev or Dmitry Bivol.
Those two will rematch on February 22 for the Undisputed Light Heavyweight Championship. Beterbiev won the first fight as Bivol seeks to overturn that loss. De La Hoya was adamant that the Mexican Monster would stop Alvarez if the Canelo and Benavidez fight happened. Oscar based this on Benavidez’s work rate, saying he would simply be too much for Canelo.
“I think he knocks him out. Benavidez is a monster. He throws literally an average of above 50 to 55 punches a round. Canelo and Charlo, in the first round they threw one punch. Combined. I’m not talking to you as ‘oh I hate Canelo or oh I hate Benavidez,’ no I’m talking [as] a boxing expert. Those are the facts.
“That’s reality on paper. Now, what happens in the ring when the bell rings? If Canelo lands that one bomb that he always throws, the right hand, I mean it’s sayonara. It’s game over for Benavidez. But I think Benavidez, because he’s young, strong, very versatile and throws a lot of punches, he’s gonna cause problems for Canelo,” De La Hoya said
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