David Benavidez wasn’t surprised that Canelo Alvarez lost last Saturday to light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, who Benavidez praised. He only wishes it would have been him delivering the upset.
The 25-year-old super middleweight contender from Phoenix, who has been mentioned as a potential opponent for Alvarez, had said that a Bivol was exactly the type of opponent who could give the now-former pound-for-pound king problems.
And that’s how it played out.
“I knew there would be a chance that Bivol would give him a tough fight,” said Benavidez, who is scheduled to face David Lemieux on May 21 in Glendale, Arizona (Showtime). “… I’ve thought that a big, strong man who wasn’t scared and not just trying to survive – a guy trying to hurt him every round – you were going to get exactly what you saw.
“Bivol had some good power. He actually stood his ground and he fought. He tried to get Canelo’s respect from the beginning. That’s the kind of game plan I would try to use, too. The last guys he’s fought had no power, Caleb Plant, Billy Joe Saunders. The only one who had power was Callum Smith and he didn’t look 100% in that fight.
“My hat’s off to Bivol. He’s a great fighter. I know him personally. I’ve sparred with him a lot of times. I knew he was a good fighter and I knew he’d give [Alvarez] a tough time. He fought the best fight of his life.”
And if Alvarez decides to fight Bivol a second time?
“I think it would actually be the same fight, or I think Bivol would beat him more decisively,” Benavidez said. “Now he knows what [Alvarez] has, he knows what to train for. Canelo still needs to figure out Bivol. So I think it would be in favor of Bivol.”
Alvarez, the undisputed super middleweight champ, indicated immediately after the fight that he would exercise the rematch clause in their contract. However, he quickly began to waffle because of Bivol’s natural size advantage.
That could mean that Alvarez will stay at 168 pounds for now. If he does, he’ll probably fight rival Gennadiy Golovkin in September. Then, if Alvarez beats the 40-year-old Triple-G, Benavidez would become a prime candidate to fight Alvarez.
That has been his dream the past few years.
“The only thing I took away from the [Bivol-Alvarez] fight was that I felt I could’ve been the first one to beat Canelo [since Floyd Mayweather in 2013],” he said. “… But I feel like I can still fight him. Canelo didn’t get beat up. He did get beat on points but he didn’t get beat up drastically.
“I feel I’m a better fighter than Bivol. I’ve sparred him. So I feel I have more weapons in my arsenal. I think a fight between me and me and Canelo would be more entertaining. … He’s still champion at 168. I could still dethrone him at 168.”
Of course, Benavidez must defeat Lemieux (43-4, 36 KOs) first.
The 33-year-old Canadian is a big puncher who has fallen short in his biggest fights, losing most recently to Golovkin and Saunders. He has won five fights since the loss to Saunders, which took place in 2017.
Benavidez said he’s looking forward to fighting Lemieux in part because of his aggressive style. The winner will become the WBC’s “interim” titleholder.
“David Lemieux is a great fighter,” he said. “He has a lot of knockout power. I feel like his style is tailor made for me. I have a lot of success with all types of fighters but better success with fighters who come forward to me.
“Because of that, I’m very excited to fight him. I think it will be a good fight because he’s very motivated, too. We’ll see how it ends up.”
If Benavidez ends up winning, a big fight could follow. Even if he doesn’t get Alvarez right away, there are other big-name opponents for him to face. That includes Plant, Jermall Charlo and Demetrius Andrade.
“I feel once I get this interim title I’ll have more leverage,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll get the chance to fight Canelo in the future or get a big fight with Caleb Plant, Charlo, Boo Boo Andrade. There’s a lot of good fights to be made. I feel any of those three fights (Plant, Charlo and Andrade] can be made now.
“We’re going to get a big fight regardless. But first things first. I gotta take care of this fight in two weeks. And after that I’ll move on to bigger and better things.”
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