Should Crawford Fight Benavidez?
Bernie Davis, Terence Crawford’s coach, has shut down talk of a David Benavidez fight.
Davis responded to reports that Turki Alalshikh wanted Benavidez to move back down to 168 to take on Bud for his Undisputed Super Middleweight Title. Crawford moved up from 154 to make his debut at the weight class, as he defied the odds to give Canelo a unanimous decision defeat. Benavidez failed to get the undisputed title shot when he was at 168, despite being the WBC Interim Champion for over two years.
Benavidez then moved up to 175 where he is the current WBC Champion. The Mexican Monster faces Anthony Yarde in November, with the eventual aim of becoming undisputed. Fights against the likes of Dmity Bivol and Artur Beterbiev are a possibility, as Davis felt Benavidez was better of focusing on those names.
“David Benavidez has always been a big guy. He never fought at a lighter weight. That disturbs me about Turki. That p**** me off and make me start talking s*** just for stupid s*** like that. It’s like he got the money. ‘Basically, I can control you with the money. Now, I’m going to present the Benavidez fight.’ “No, no, no, no. Benavidez should be going to fight Bivol, Beterbiev because he’s ready for that type of competition,” Davis said
The Rationale
There is a significant physical disparity between the two fighters. Benavidez is a natural light heavyweight, while Crawford, in contrast, is a natural welterweight who just made a historic leap to 168 pounds to beat Canelo. For Crawford to then face an even larger, more powerful fighter like Benavidez is an unnecessary risk. Davis argues that Crawford has already proven he can beat a bigger man and doesn’t need to take on another one.
Davis directly accused promoters like Turki Alalshikh of trying to “control you with the money” by presenting a Benavidez fight as the next logical step for Crawford. This, from a legacy and competitive standpoint, doesn’t make sense for Crawford. The Benavidez fight was one that was primarily demanded for Canelo Alvarez, and Davis believes it is not Crawford’s responsibility to clean up the division. For Crawford, who has already achieved the historic feat of becoming a three-division undisputed champion, taking on Benavidez is a high-risk gamble.
Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com.
