Ellerbe Backs Canelo’s $200 Million Demand For Benavidez
Leonard Ellerbe has backed Canelo Alvarez’s $200 million demand to fight David Benavidez.
Canelo has kept away from Benavidez, who was the WBC Interim Super Middleweight Champion for over two years. The financial demand was seen as a way to price himself out, especially since he has requested a lot less to fight other boxers.
The Mexican Monster has since then moved up to 175 pounds. He boxed Oleksandr Gvozdyk and beat him via a unanimous decision. The win made him mandatory for the winner of Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol. They box for undisputed on October 12.
Canelo has been called out by Turki Alalshikh and Oscar De La Hoya, who have claimed that he is looking for the easiest fights to produce the most money. Despite the backlash, Ellerbe has defended Canelo.
Ellerbe knows those comments well since he was in Floyd Mayweather’s camp. Mayweather was accused of ducking Manny Pacquiao before the fight happened in 2015. Mayweather won a unanimous decision and made over $300 million for the fight. Ellerbe backed what Canelo was doing.
Ellerbe On Canelo
“Many of the fans don’t understand the business. I haven’t had a conversation with him about that. I’ve heard different things, but why not if that’s the number he’s looking for? I support it. Yes. Everyone wants to see it. He’s [Canelo] at the top of his game, making a lot of money, doing what he does.
“That’s putting his craft to use and entertaining the fans at the highest level. He’s been very active, and that’s important, especially in a later fight in his career. He’s staying sharp. So that kind of stuff is always going to be in his favor. I really love this fight and I hope the Benavidez fight gets made at some point, hopefully next year,” Ellerbe said
There are now more hurdles than before for making the fight. Benavidez may struggle to get down to 168 since he was already boiling himself. The Mexican Monster is also unlikely to want any rehydration clause which would hamper him. The fight is also no longer undisputed, meaning that Canelo’s leverage has reduced a little.
Will It Happen?
If a catchweight can occur, it is possible to happen. Canelo did move up to 175 pounds twice before when he beat Sergey Kovalev and lost to Dmitry Bivol. Canelo has also expressed his desire to rematch Bivol at 175 for undisputed if he can beat Beterbiev. That shows that Alvarez can still be a light heavyweight, ruling out further obstacles. Ellerbe was behind Canelo’s demands.
“It’s a fight that the entire sport wants to see. It’s two guys [Canelo vs. Benavidez] at the top of their game. The fans want to see that fight, and I think they’ll get it next year. I hear pushback that he’s [Canelo] asking for too much money. There’s never enough money when you’re getting up there and putting your life on the line. It’s never enough. I support his decision to do it whenever he’s ready to do it because there’s no such thing as him being scared of Benavidez. That man [Canelo] has fought everyone in the sport. He has an incredible resume,” Ellerbe stated
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