Canelo Alvarez says a fight with David Benavidez is now “impossible” because the former WBC interim super middleweight champion has moved up to light heavyweight.
In an interview, Canelo defended himself against years of criticism from fans who believed he avoided Benavidez during their time at 168 pounds.
“When we were both at 168, I fought every champion in that division. Why he never fight those champions? If he was a champion at that point, I fight him.
My goal was being undisputed. Right now, it’s just impossible. He can come fight with heavyweights,” said Canelo to @InsideRingShow.
The explanation immediately drew criticism from fans, many of whom pointed out that Benavidez only moved up one division to 175 after spending years chasing the fight at super middleweight.
Others noted that Canelo himself already moved to light heavyweight in the past for fights against Dmitry Bivol and Sergey Kovalev. Terence Crawford also jumped two divisions from 154 to 168 for his recent fight with Canelo, making the size argument difficult for some fans to accept.
Benavidez spent years holding an interim status with the WBC while repeatedly calling for a fight with Canelo at 168. Instead, Canelo went in different directions, fighting opponents like Edgar Berlanga, Jaime Munguia, John Ryder, and William Scull.
Now that Benavidez has captured titles at 175, Canelo is arguing the fight no longer makes sense because of the weight difference. For many fans, the timing of that explanation is only going to restart the debate over why the fight never happened when both fighters were still in the same division.
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Last Updated on 2026/05/25 at 10:06 PM
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