Canelo Alvarez’s manager/trainer is setting the record straight.
Eddy Reynoso told ESPN Deportes in Spanish that he did not receive a $55 million offer for Alvarez to face David Benavidez, as Benavidez’s promoter Samson Lewkowicz reportedly suggested. And he dismissed the notion that the undisputed 168-pound champion is afraid of Benavidez as being “in very bad taste.”
Alvarez is expected to fight on May 4 but has not announced an opponent. And Benavidez reportedly is in talks to face 175-pounder Oleksandr Gvozdyk in late spring or the summer.
“The reality is that none of the big promoters, not Al Haymon from Premier Boxing Champions, not Eddie Hearn from Matchroom, not Bob Arum from Top Rank and not even Oscar De La Hoya from Golden Boy have given me an offer to fight Benavidez … and certainly not …Terence Crawford,” Reynoso said.
He went on: “Canelo Team has a direct line with Al Haymon and I really doubt that anyone from PBC will come out to support what [Lewkowicz] is saying for wanting to save the way he has handled his fighter. It is not our fault that Benavidez has not had the opportunities that they shout so much about. Our job is for Canelo to shine and continue to shine as he has until now.”
And he doesn’t understand how anyone could question Alvarez’s courage given his deep resume.
“I find it in very bad taste that they say that Canelo is afraid of him,” Reynoso said. “I don’t know how they dare to classify as fearful a fighter who did not hesitate to take the opportunity against Floyd Mayweather, who has been the best boxer of the last 20 years, a fighter who faced the fearsome Gennadiy Golovkin who was about to set a new mark [for knockouts], of defenses at middleweight and had knocked out half the world, a fighter who rose to light heavyweight risking everything to face Dmitry Bivol, who faced Miguel Cotto, who beat the best super middleweights of his time to make history.”
Reynoso reportedly has said that Alvarez’s opponent will be announced within a week. Jermall Charlo had been rumored to be the leading candidate but now fellow Mexican Jaime Munguia is in the mix.
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