Canelo Alvarez On David Benavidez :‘He Has Accomplished Nothing!’ Creates Fan And Media Outrage

By Frank Bay: The face of boxing is Canelo Alvarez. Like it or not, that is the truth, based upon simple economics. Alvarez brings in the most money of any current boxer worldwide but most importantly stateside (USA). Anthony Joshua might contend with Canelo worldwide, but certainly not stateside.

Not only ‘the face’ economically but socially as well. Canelo draws the most attention with the established media (news outlets like ESPN, boxing scene, ring magazine, etc.) and with new media, i.e., social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and X, which are dependent on clicks and views. So, if you’re looking to cover boxing, you’re going to talk about Canelo Alvarez by any means necessary.

Simply put, Canelo Alvarez has picked up where Floyd Mayweather left off and, before him, Oscar De La Hoya and down to Ali. Like Canelo, they brought the A-list celebrities, actors, athletes, and musicians out. They attract the eyes and dollars of famous people and the common man alike. That’s how boxing works and how it has always worked. But every now and then, someone comes along that wants to disrupt the system and strong-arm the gravy train. Bring us to Davis Benavidez circa 2025.

El Monstro Rojo

Who is David Benavidez, you might ask? Factually, Benavidez is on the other side of 28 and has boxed professionally for 12 years at 168 pounds and 175 pounds. He has achieved an impressive record of 30 wins and no losses with 24 KOs. Technically, you could call him a 2x champion, but that’s purely based on technicalities due to him losing them in the first place.

David admittedly lost a title due to drug use and a second to missing weight. He beat Porky Medina and Ronald Gavril for those titles. Not exactly Murderer’s Row, but nevertheless, he was the youngest 168-pounder in boxing history. Benavidez currently fights for the PBC and is advised by the notorious ghostly figure Al Haymon. He is managed by well-known boxing figure Sampson Lewkowicz, who also discovered talents like Serigo Martinez and Marcos Maidana.

Benavidez has always been a talent fighting in the shadows, as he says, being the fat kid of his brother Jose Benavidez Jr. Jose Jr was a highly touted prospect, but due to an injury, he wasn’t able to pan out, so the family’s success depended on a now green and young David.

There were already stories about David because he was allegedly 13 years old sparring with the likes of Gennady Golovkin and other pros. He still was a best-kept secret within boxing, but his star was growing because the word was out. Top Rank at one time tried their best to poach Benevidez from Top Rank but to no avail. David had his ups and downs, but his downs couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Canelo Alvarez: King Or Dictator?

Bringing us back to the face of boxing. Canelo Alvarez was destined to move to 168 and become the undisputed champion in only 18 months. This was perhaps the worst fate of all for Benavidez because since he lost his title, he was not able to maximize it by being one of the opponents Canelo Alvarez had to go through.

Nope, instead, his stablemate Caleb Plant earned a shot at Alvarez and the life-changing $10 million he reportedly got after turning Canelo down the first time. Well played, Caleb Plant. David Benavidez was on the outside looking in once again, and he has remained on the outside like one Demetrius Andrade was during his attempt to hunt the red-haired Mexican down during his ill-fated run.

Andrade did his best to corner Canelo by chasing and berating him at press conferences, where we now get the famous quotes, ‘get da phuck outta here mane’ and ‘you horrible fighter’. Alvarez would tell Andrade the same thing, that he had done nothing and that he would never get a shot for being so disrespectful.

This was the moment when Alvarez let it be known he was in charge, and if you wanted a ‘pey dey’, you had to kiss the ring of the king and play nice. He told the boxing world “he does what he wants”. Andrade did the rounds with the media and social media platforms, howling to the moon that Alvarez was ducking him.

All to no avail, it fell on deaf ears, and Andrade’s career died on the vine as he played it safe, choosing to be inactive and fight low-caliber fighters while waiting on Canelo Alvarez. It never happened, and David Benavidez capitalized on this scenario by eliminating Andrade. Conquering the man many said Canelo avoided.

Birth Of The Villain: The Mexican Monster

Now that Canelo was in his division, Benavidez could see the light at the end of the tunnel. But he was still fighting in rather obscurity as Alvarez took the 168 thrones at which one time, he was the man. He assumed that in no time he would be back on top. He just needed to wait. So, to jump-start the process, he starts calling out Canelo Alvares. Sounds easy enough but it would soon backfire. Canelo had other plans.

It was at this time that the monster was born. He was given the stamp of approval by none other than the legend himself, Iron Mike Tyson. On Mike Tyson’s podcast, a then relative unknown David Benavidez was a guest. Some say Tyson didn’t really know who David was, so he erroneously called him the Mexican Monster. And the urban legend was born.

Never mind that David is half-Ecuadorian. David took off and ran with it. There wasn’t a better fitting name than the Mexican Monster for the 6’1 220pd David Benavidez, to contrast with the 5’6 160-ish looking Canelo Alvarez. The Mexican Monster was now a trending topic.

Heavy Is He Who Wears The Crown

The monster was now on the path of war to the king. But Alvarez, having become undisputed, was in an unbreakable fortress. And the king had greater ambitions, moving on to 175. David had a name, but the future looked bleak. And besides Alvarez’s credit, David had not beaten anyone of note yet.

Canelo was insulated from criticism at this point, having become undisputed. But after the Bivol debacle, the monster and the public saw weakness in the king. It was at this point that the rumblings began with fans and critics. What would Canelo do next?

Well, the answer for most was that Canelo would play it safely. Now, looking back, most would say he has been doing his best to hold onto the crown by choosing safe opponents while at the same time acting as if Benavidez was a mere beggar.

…. To Be Continued Part II the conclusion

JAKE PAUL ‘THE REAL FACE OF BOXING’

THE HATED TERM ‘MARINATION’

BUD CRAWFORD SKIPS THE LINE