Canelo Dismisses Benavidez After Cruiserweight Win

Canelo Alvarez has poured cold water on the prospect of a fight with David Benavidez, questioning whether the newly crowned cruiserweight champion can even return to heavyweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">light heavyweight after bulking up to defeat Gilberto Ramirez.

The response was characteristically measured and characteristically deflating for a fighter who has spent five years trying to get Canelo's attention.

"Every single boxer in any division is calling me out. It's nothing new to me," Canelo said. "He did good in the fight. I'm not surprised he called me out, but I don't think he can make 175 anymore. It's not my problem."

The weight question is Canelo's chosen line of attack, and it is not entirely without basis. Benavidez moved up to cruiserweight to challenge Ramirez and won convincingly, claiming the WBA and WBO titles in the process.

Whether a fighter who has been operating at 200 pounds can return to the 175-pound light heavyweight limit is a legitimate question — though it is one Benavidez's team would argue is manageable with proper preparation, and one that conveniently allows Canelo to sidestep a fight he has avoided discussing seriously for the better part of half a decade.

Benavidez has been calling for this fight throughout his rise from middleweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">super middleweight to light heavyweight and now to cruiserweight. Each title win has been followed by another callout, and each callout has been met with varying degrees of dismissal from the Canelo camp.

The cruiserweight win against Ramirez strengthened Benavidez's standing across multiple divisions and handed Roy Jones Jr. the platform to call for a Usyk fight, but it has done nothing to move Canelo closer to engaging.

Canelo's immediate focus is September 12 in Riyadh against WBC super middleweight champion Christian Mbilli — a fight that will determine whether he can reclaim the divisional dominance he lost to Terence Crawford last September. Benavidez, for now, will have to keep waiting.