Part II: On Canelos Claim That Benavidez Has Accomplished Nothing!”

By Frank Bay: David Benavidez has hit the mainstream. If David has done nothing boxing-wise, having feasted on old washed-up fighters (Anthony Dirrel and Demetrius Andrade) or Canelo Alvare’s leftovers (Caleb Plant), he has at least hit the algorithm. People know who ‘The Mexican Monster’ is outside of boxing now.

Jake Paul- King Or Jester?

He was officially given the stamp of approval by the self-proclaimed ‘Face of boxing’ YouTuber/pro boxer Jake Paul. Benavidez was recently a guest on a Jake Paul podcast, where they both discussed their issues with Alvarez. This signifies that while David may not have earned the boxing accolades or money that Canelo has, he has something more important. Clout!

The American lexicon has produced a slang term called ‘clout’. It’s used to indicate a person’s status or social approval score. If it were a presidential race, you could say David would be up in the polls, and Canelo would be very far behind. Benavidez has been campaigning hard, and he has finally won over the masses, maybe not inside the ring, but a quick glance at social media and it’s clear David is at the top of social opinion. Being friends with Jake Paul proves it, or does it?

Jake Paul is bitter at Canelo for what he says was reneging on what he claims was a done deal for them to fight in the summer of 2025. Jake just comes across as salty, crying that Canelo is only money-hungry and doesn’t care about boxing because he broke his date with him.

Choosing a better date came along and threw $100 million in his lap. How dare Canelo! And how dare Turki Alalshikh upstage his circus fight. It’s a bit ironic if you ask me. Nevertheless, David and Paul simply sounded as if they were two bitter women gossiping like a sewing circle about the man that stood them up for a bigger-breasted woman.

I dare any man reading this to seriously argue that they would do anything different than what Canelo did. On one side, you have Jake Paul and David Benavidez chasing you for a one-off payday for significantly less money, or on the other, you can make $100 million for Willam Scull and a lot more with Turki Alalshikh going further. There isn’t an honest man who wouldn’t choose the latter.

The Hated Term ‘Marination’

Boxing fans know the dreaded word marination. Yes, some things in life need time to grow and marinate. A good wine or choice of prime meat needs to be seasoned and marinated. But in sports, and specifically boxing, is this a good strategy, or is it more of an avoidance?

Like when a woman tells a man she is dating that they should wait to consummate, that can have two effects for a man. It can be the woman’s way of exploiting him for more free dinners, and he gives up when he realizes he has been played, and it could enhance the man’s desire for a woman and make him do his best to win her over. Women have perfected this strategy to a tee. Why do you ask? Because it works!

It also works the same way for boxing. I’m going to have an un-popular opinion and say yes sometimes big fights are better suited for marination, and Canelo v Benevidez is no exception. Is it a strategy that can backfire? Yes. But can the future payoff be absolutely worth the risk, you bet your ass it can.

There isn’t a person reading this who doesn’t face this scenario every day. But in boxing this is frowned upon, and fighters are bashed for perceived ducking when this strategy is employed. We are seeing Jarron Ennis and Brian Norman dealing with this same scenario as I write. Of course, fans would love an Ennis vs. Norman fight this instant, but the harsh reality is that neither is a true star yet.

Sure, the money may be decent now, but if each fighter can keep winning and raising their profile, then a future fight becomes even more valuable. This is an undeniable fact. Boxing history also backs up my opinion. Mayweather vs. Pacquiao took around 6 years to make, Spence vs. Crawford took 4 years to make, and Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin was 2 years in the making.

In all those instances, the fights became bigger over time. Any reasonable fan would have to admit that if, for example, Spence vs. Crawford were made in its infancy, it would not have done well at the box office at all. The constant back-and-forth with fans and media created the firestorm that ensured its commercial success.

And for every successful marination process, it can also backfire. We see it now with Fury vs. Joshua, Joshua vs. Wilder, Tank Davis vs. Lomachenko, and many others. A fighter could lose during the marination process, but again, the risk is still worth the reward. Case in point: Fury vs. Joshua.

This fight is not what it once was, but it will still be a massive commercial success. Fans will complain that they want the fights during their primes. I will argue that it doesn’t matter. Mayweather and Pacquiao were not in their primes when they finally fought, but people still wanted to see it after all the years of waiting.

People will still want to see Tank Davis vs. Lomachenko and Wilder vs. Joshua. To further prove just how crazy boxing fans are, they still wanted to see the rumored Mayweather vs. Pacquaio 2, even if it was just an exhibition.

The truth is that if Benavidez v Alvarez had happened even just two years ago, it would not have been a mega event. Fast-forward a mere two years, and  David has raised his profile and is mainstream. Even with Alvarez’s commercial numbers slipping and showing bodily wear and tear, his star power would grow to unprecedented heights if and when he fights David Benavidez. This is all part of the process.

The fear is what if Alvarez or David were to lose a fight in between? I’m here to tell you that it would still be a fight fans want to see and still be a major commercial success. Pacquiao lost on his way to Mayweather.

Floyd went to jail, and the fight only got bigger and bigger. The bright side is if David continues to win big fights, then the fight only grows to unimaginable commercial success. Were Benevidez able to get a fight against Bivol and beat the Canelo conqueror, then a fight between him and Alvarez grows exponentially. The reality is that this fight is being marinated.

Crawford Skips The Line

In a case of perceived favoritism, Bud Crawford has, not sure what you call it, maybe earned or maybe given a shot at the king. That’s why it has been said that it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. And Crawford has somehow seemingly been adopted by money man Turki Alalshikh as his favorite son. But let’s compare Crawford and Benevidez a bit.

Is Benavidez a better fighter than Crawford? You would have to say that, factually, Crawford has done more in the sport than Benavidez. To most critics, he is arguably pound 4 pound #1.  What about from a purely technical boxing aspect? I’m sure most would consider Crawford as having more skills than Benavidez, boxing style-wise.

What about the level of opponents? The consensus would have to be based purely on the technicalities. Crawford has faced the better opposition. Crawford has one p4p fighter on his resume, while Benavidez has none.

Crawford cleaned out his divisions for undisputed, albeit weak ones, and Canelo was correct in that until David beat Canelo’s leftover Plant, he had accomplished nothing. Before Plant, he had no recognizable names on his resume. It must be noted that he beat Porky and Ronald for those titles. Edge Crawford.

Since boxing is also a business, let’s look at commercial appeal. I’m going to say that Crawford and Benavidez may be about the same level as far as social following and reach go. They are both dwarfed in that department by even Ryan Garcia, let alone trying to compete with Canelo Alvarez.

Crawford and Benavidez are known within the boxing world, but outside of it, in mainstream society, it’s hard to say if your average American would recognize either man walking on the street. What about ticket sales and viewership? Based on Crawford’s lone PPV success against Errol Spence, Crawford wins that department. Why? Because Benavidez has been flopping at the box office.

If Crawford is not a guaranteed ticket seller or PPV success because, other than his successful Spence fight, most of his commercial fights have failed, then Benavidez might as well be fighting in his garage on YouTube. The only clear case why Benavidez is more deserving of a shot at Canelo over Crawford is the weight issue.

Specifically, fans argue Canelo shouldn’t be fighting a junior middleweight in Crawford moving up, while Benavidez is in his own division. Well, that argument kind of got thrown out when Benavidez decided to leave the division of his nemesis. Say what you will, but this move allowed Crawford to skip the line because David got out of line.

Now for the ultimate comparison: money. What makes more money? A Canelo vs. Crawford PPV or a Canelo vs. Benavidez PPV? It’s hard to make a convincing argument that a Benavidez vs. Alvarez fight does better at the box office than Crawford vs. Alvarez. Logistically speaking, observing the past data, a Canelo vs. Crawford PPV will be more successful at this moment in time. Based on the numbers alone, when comparing Crawford and Benevidez, Crawford has at least one commercially successful PPV.

Based on the evidence, Canelo would have to be a fool to turn down the insane amount of money that Turki Alalshikh will be throwing at him to face Crawford. Also, with Turki Alalshikh’s endless funds helping promote the Canelo vs. Crawford fight, it has a much greater chance of being a commercial success than a fight between Alvarez and Benavidez.

Lastly, for Canelo, beating Crawford will add another pound-for-pound fighter who is also a future Hall of Famer to his resume, only increasing his legacy. The truth is that Benavidez has a way to go to achieve that status. Beating Bivol would be a start.