Floyd Mayweather has his preference for Canelo Alvarez’s next opponent. And that potential foe isn’t a cruiserweight.
Mayweather, speaking to reporters at a news conference Thursday to promote Sunday’s Gervonta Davis-Isaac Cruz fight, believes the Mexican superstar should defend the undisputed 168-pound championship against former titleholder David Benavidez.
Alvarez’s team has indicated that he plans to challenge cruiserweight champ Ilunga Makabu, assuming Makabu defeats mandatory challenger Thabiso Mchunu in a tentative bout on Jan. 29.
Mayweather is aligned with the management company Premier Boxing Champions, as is Benavidez. Alvarez is a free agent.
“Canelo a hell of a fighter,” Mayweather said, according to BoxingScene.com. “But my personal opinion, he’s ducking Benavidez. You know, it’s just my personal opinion. And I’m allowed to speak my mind. That’s just what it is.
“He’s going up to cruiserweight. And I’m not knocking him, but he’s going up to cruiserweight and that same guy (Makabu) was at, he used to be at the Mayweather Boxing Gym, and the guys were really getting the best of him in the Mayweather Boxing Gym.
“So, if he’s going up to quote-unquote cruiserweight, I mean, if that’s the case, Benavidez is gonna go up and beat that same guy. He could beat that same guy at 168. So he’s not doing nothing, you know, like I said before.
“But when you are put in a certain position, he should be, I mean, he’s able to like me, you know, when I was in a position, I can pick and choose who I want to, because I earned that right. But do I like this fight? Uh-uh. Absolutely not. We wanna see Benavidez. Let’s make it happen.”
The fight at cruiserweight is attractive to Alvarez because he wants to win a major title in a fifth division.