Canelo Alvarez has spectre of David Benavidez looming large as he prepares for Edgar Berlanga fight

09/06/2024 05:44 AM

When Canelo Alvarez fights Edgar Berlanga, the spectre cast by David Benavidez is almost certain to prove greater than any of those invested in Alvarez-Berlanga had hoped.

Speculation regarding a potential future fight with Terence Crawford will regardless persist, but even those who recognise the intrigue and commercial appeal surrounding a fight between them will know that Benavidez, and not Crawford – once a lightweight – poses Alvarez's biggest threat. 

Perhaps since the third of Alvarez's fights with Gennady Golovkin, in September 2022, Benavidez has represented the Mexican's most essential fight.

He has since defeated John Ryder, Jermell Charlo and Jaime Munguia and agreed to fight Berlanga, when all along Alvarez-Benavidez has been among the contests the world has most wanted to see. 

It was with victory over Caleb Plant in 2021 that Alvarez defeated his then-most natural super-middleweight rival.

Golovkin, a career middleweight, followed two fights later; Benavidez then proceeded to defeat Plant next.

American Benavidez had by then already become the world's youngest ever super-middleweight champion, having made his professional debut at the age of 16 with a stoppage victory over Erasmo Mendoza, and at 20 years and nine months old earned a split decision over Ronald Gavril in February 2018 to win the vacant WBC title.

That May, despite being under contract to the promoter Sampson Lewkowicz, he accepted a $250,000 signing bonus to join Top Rank, the organisation that promoted his brother Jose Benavidez Jnr.

Eventually, to avoid legal action, he returned the signing bonus to Top Rank and resumed his professional relationship with Lewkowicz, before that August then testing positive for cocaine.

"He returned the money, a cashier's cheque, with a nice letter saying he wanted to stay with Sampson, so we decided to honour the request even though he signed with us and we wished him good luck," Top Rank's Bob Arum explained.

"The only reason we signed him is because he came up to the office and he said [Lewkowicz and adviser Al Haymon] were doing bad by him and he wanted to sign with us. He said they had breached the contract and he wanted to come with us. He changed his mind. We said fine and he sent us back the $250,000."

It was in a random test conducted by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association that the banned substance benzoylecgonine – cocaine's key ingredient – was detected in a urine sample Benavidez provided, leading to him being stripped of his title before he had made a solitary defence.

"I would like to sincerely apologise to the WBC for my actions," he posted on social media. "I am embarrassed to have this happen and to my all my fans that I lost the respect of, I know a lot of people won't see me the same but I am young and it was a mistake on my behalf."

After watching Anthony Dirrell defeat Avni Yildirim to win the vacant title, Benavidez stopped Dirrell to win it back, but was stripped again in August 2020 when on the eve of his scheduled defence against Roamer Alexis Angulo he weighed in 2.8lbs over the 168lbs limit.

He regardless became the first to stop Angulo, but four months later then watched Alvarez and Callum Smith fight for the same title and Alvarez ultimately win – perhaps then making Alvarez the number-one target in his mind.

When in March 2023 Benavidez recorded his most impressive victory, over Plant, he called out Alvarez before he had even left the ring.

"I have a lot of respect for Canelo Alvarez, but he has to give me that shot now," he said. "That's what everybody wants to see in September. I don't think he's trying to avoid me; I just believe he has a lot of options."

"David puts [punches] together not just [better] than Canelo but most people in boxing," said Plant. "David can put his hands together." 

Alvarez, by then, was preparing to fight Ryder little over a month later, but when Jermell Charlo, and not Jermall Charlo as was initially expected, was confirmed as Alvarez's following opponent, the belief that he was avoiding – something no boxer wants as a reputation – Benavidez started to grow.

"Benavidez is the fight for the sport, but I think that's more likely to happen in the second fight [in September] in 2024," said Eddie Hearn, by then no longer Alvarez's promoter. "He's been through a lot of guys, but Benavidez is the fight that fight fans want."

"The reason why this fight is not happening is because Canelo doesn't want it to happen, plain and simple," Benavidez said in the build-up to Alvarez's entertaining victory over his fellow Mexican Munguia in May 2024. "I mean, the money is there; the anticipation from the fight fans is there. It would be an amazing event."

The following month Benavidez, no doubt frustrated and aware of why it was Berlanga was in Las Vegas to be ringside for Alvarez-Munguia, moved up to light-heavyweight to fight, and defeat, Ukraine's Oleksandr Gvozdyk. It was his 29th win from his 29th fight. 

Alvarez, who had by then spoken of being willing to finally fight him for between $150m and $200m, said: "If the money's right, I can fight [Benavidez] right now. I don't give a s***. It's only a matter of money at this point. Everybody is asking for everything.

"When I fought [Erislandy] Lara; Austin Trout; Miguel Angel Cotto; [Floyd] Mayweather; Billy Joe Saunders; GGG [Golovkin], everybody said I don't want to fight them, and I fought all of them. So right now I can do whatever I want."