What if Canelo Alvarez and David Benavidez DID Fight?

It looks as though the ship has forever sailed on THE fight to make at super middleweight– Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs. David Benavidez.

Alvarez has just about said “no fight” in every possible way, from dissing Benavidez’s resume to insinuating he’s a weight bully to demanding crazy-unreasonable money (reportedly $200 million) to entertain the idea of a Benavidez bout.

Benavidez, meanwhile, has moved on to light heavyweight where his new stated career goal is to face the winner of the upcoming Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol 175 lb. unification clash.

But, as we all know, money talks in boxing. Nothing is an impossibility when there’s enough money behind it.

So, what if they DID fight?

With both competing under the Premier Boxing Champions banner and showcased on Amazon Prime, negotiations SHOULD go smoother than if either fighter had to cross promotional/network fences. Notice the word “should.” Canelo’s clearly bruised ego regarding a Benavidez fight may always be a sticking point.

Commercially, the fight should do better than any Canelo event since his rematch with Gennady Golovkin in 2018. There’d even be a temptation to say that, despite the current soft pay-per-view market, Alvarez-Benavidez could surpass any of the Mexican star’s PPV showings, with the exception of his bout with Floyd Mayweather in 2013. But, at the very least, given all of the build-up and the inherent intrigue in the pairing, US buys should cross over the million mark.

Competitively, Canelo-Benavidez is as close to a “can’t-miss” main stage thriller as anything in boxing today. It pits a proud veteran champion against a hungry contender. Both would enter the ring with legit axes to grind as Alvarez would be looking to beat down the challenge of someone he’s been accused of ducking for years. Benavidez, on the other side, will have to prove, after all the talk and the hot pursuit of this big-ticket match, that he’s the man to give Canelo a beating.

Pitting a savvy counter-puncher with aggressive instincts against an all-out pressure fighter, the bout can only play out in violence. There’s no imaginable scenario where this one doesn’t generate fierce skirmishes and bruising brutality.

Caleb Plant, who’s shared the ring with both fighters (an eleventh-round TKO loss to Canelo in 2021 and a unanimous decision loss to Benavidez in 2023), has recently offered his own first-hand insight, comparing and contrasting the two stars.

“Canelo hits harder for one punch. He hits harder than David,” Plant told Fight Hub TV. “David puts them together [punches] quite a bit better, not just than Canelo, but most people in boxing. David can really put his hands together.

“Both have their pros and cons. Both have underrated defense, and they’re sharp. They’re both great fighters. There’s a difference in styles, but they’re both great at what they do…

“There were things I was able to do with Canelo that I wasn’t able to do with David. I feel like Canelo has more experience and maybe a little more savvy because of the experience. I think he hits harder than David. At the same time, there are things that David does better than Canelo, as I mentioned.”

As for a prediction from the former IBF super middleweight champ?

“In a big fight like that, it’s a roll of the dice. I can’t say for sure. There are so many variables that come into play…If David got in there, put his punches together too much and Canelo couldn’t keep up with the pace…how surprised would you be? Probably not that surprised. And then if Canelo got in there and won and dropped David, even stopped him…would you be super surprised?

Canelo vs. Benavidez would be big and good and a tough fight to predict. It would also be great for the sport. However, it’s looking like the fight has less and less chance of being made as time passes.

Never say never in boxing, though. Where there’s money, there’s always hope.