Andrade Desperate To Face Benavidez, Warns Crawford About Canelo

Demetrius Andrade is desperate to prove who is the best fighter at super middleweight by securing a fight with David Benavidez.

As of now, Canelo is the top dog in the division given that the holds all the belts at 168. The Mexican, though, is currently tied up as he gets ready to face Jermell Charlo on September 30th, 2023.

Outside of that, Benavidez is the biggest name as the undefeated Mexican is the current WBC interim champion.

And given that Andrade is a former two-division world champion, who is also undefeated, the American is desperate to prove how good he can be.

"It would have to be Canelo next. This right here is going to tell you who the best 168 fighter is. You’re not going to know who’s #1 until we fight. We’re going to see what it is, hopefully, come November when me and David Benavidez go at it.

"Listen, boxing is not easy. He [Canelo]] did it. If you don’t fight me, cool. If you don’t fight David [Benavidez], it doesn’t matter. He did his job and became successful in many ways, in the ring and outside the ring. “My hat goes off to him, and that’s it.He [Canelo] definitely needs to fix his language when he sees me like, ‘Horrible fighter," Andrade

Nevertheless, there is a feeling that Andrade may have missed his chance. The boxer is now 35-years-old and is entering into the latter end of his career.

And given that he has yet to face a big name, a fight against a hungry Benavidez would be a risky move. Not only that, but Andrade’s best success has been at 154 and 160.

As such, facing Benavidez at 168 is a whole different kettle of fish. This is particularly since Benavidez is a huge 168-pounder, who has spoken about moving up to 175. But in order to achieve greatness, Andrade knows he does not have much time left.

Andrade On Crawford

Despite feeling positive about himself, one fighter who Andrade feels worried for is Terence Crawford.

The latter has indicated his desire to face Canelo at 168 pounds. This would require him to move up three weight classes in order to make the fight happen.

That huge jump, though, would come with a massive reward. A win would make Crawford undisputed in a third weight class and strengthen his claim as the greatest of all time.

But for all the ambition that he is showing, Andrade simply felt that it was too much a of a risk for him.

"Don’t come up here [168]. It’s a big difference. He [Crawford] has the skill, but at 168, there are skilled fighters up here. There ain’t nobody not seeing what he’s doing. Plus, we’ll be able to bully him. Fight Canelo, get your pay. Canelo’s not a natural 168, 175-type guy. He started off at 154, 160. He’s not like a tall guy. Canelo will say, ‘Hell yeah. That’s not GGG, that’s not David [Benavidez,’ that’ a small guy. These guys are coming down from 200 lbs to fight at 168, and then putting on 195 lbs. It’s a big difference [from fighting at 147]. You need to develop the weight, size & strength to get in there with a natural guy like Benavidez, Plant, Canelo, or Jermell Charlo. These are all big guys," Andrade

Nevertheless, boxing is a sport in which anything can happen. And by attempting to achieve greatness, Crawford is putting himself into all the right conversations.

Previous fighters have shown that it is possible to move up in weight and cause an upset. This was seen when Roy Jones Jr. moved up from light heavyweight to heavyweight in order to face John Ruiz.

Jones managed to grab the win in order to become the WBA heavyweight champion of the world. Although Jones was never the same fighter when he moved back down in weight, Crawford is 36 years old.

Therefore, a fight against Canelo could be his last especially if here were to grab a win. But whether he can pull it off is another matter. Time will tell how it all plays out moving forward in the future.

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