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Ladies and gentlemen, Canelo Alvarez is back in the building.
And now that he’s capped off his Gennadiy Golovkin trilogy with an intermittently impressive unanimous decision victory, the cinnamon-haired Mexican can return to his other calling.
Matchmaker.
The pay-per-view stalwart has his pick of the pack when it comes to his next event, which he suggested Saturday could happen next spring to allow time to rest and get surgery on a damaged left hand.
Given a loose history with weight classes, the landscape is particularly open for Alvarez, who reigned in four divisions and held belts at 168 or 175 pounds in every calendar year since 2018.
But when you factor in variables like competition, importance, and promotional accessibility, there’s one potential opponent that rises above the rest.
Your name? David Benavidez.
The why is simple.
Alvarez has said that 168 is his most comfortable weight and, with Golovkin’s victory, increased his super middleweight record to a pristine 7-0.
Benavides checks all the boxes for a compelling matchup, including youth (25), undefeated record (26-0, 23 KOs), title possession pedigree (two reigns as WBC champion), and mandatory challenger status.
And make no mistake, it’s a fight Benavidez covets and thinks he should get.
“I feel like I was already the number one contender when I won the title eliminator. Now, I won the interim title,” he said after defeating former middleweight claimant David Lemieux in May. “So, it was two fights. I was the number one contender, so I feel like I deserve it. I put in the work.”
Getting it is another matter.
Like several other potential foes, Benavidez is four and a half inches taller and has a four-inch reach over Alvarez, but his 88.5 percent KO rate adds an element of real danger that isn’t as apparent with any other. . be an opponent in the weight category.
And because Benavidez never lost his titles in the ring (he handed over one after a failed drug test and another after losing the weight), he is still considered a legitimate champion.
She may not be the most likely choice for Alvarez, according to SiriusXM radio host and former Ring magazine editor Randy Gordon, but she has the merits to be the best.
“The biggest fight at 168 is Canelo against David Benavidez,” he told Boxing Scene. “While Canelo is still in his prime, he should go after that fight and stop waiting for Benavidez to go away.
“That could easily be the 2023 fight of the year.”
Beyond that, it all comes down to body language.
Unsurprisingly, Alvarez instantly claimed a rematch with light heavyweight nemesis Dmitry Bivol is the fight he wants most upon returning from hand surgery, claiming it was vital to his legacy, his pride, his country and his family. .
“I will beat him,” he said.
Easier said than done given the one-sidedness of Bivol’s victory in May, which was judged 7-5 in rounds across the board but seemed more like 9-3 to even the most liberal observers.
The disparity has some suggesting that Alvarez could talk about a Bivol fight instead of making it happen, and instead seek and accept fights against less complicated and/or more lucrative foes.
“Canelo won’t acknowledge there’s a ‘he’ll never beat’ list. Too proud for that,” former HBO man Jim Lampley told Boxing Scene. “The windows are closing, so he gets the money.”
And nowhere would the money be bigger than at heavyweight.
Or at least against a heavyweight, with a catch.
The idea of a full jump past 175 for a date with three-belt heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk is certainly the kind of challenge that would guarantee a career-defining windfall.
Alvarez brought up the idea of a fight with Usyk shortly before his loss to Bivol in May, and both he and Usyk were still discussing the matter before Golovkin’s final on Saturday.
“It’s tough, but I don’t care. I like that kind of challenge,” Alvarez told FightHype. “It’s going to be tough, I know, but I love boxing. I love being in that kind of situation.”
Although a smallish heavyweight, Usyk would still be seven inches taller than Alvarez and possess a more than seven-inch advantage in reach, along with the technical acumen that allowed him to strategically educate Anthony Joshua for most of their 24 rounds. together.
The financial payout would likely drift toward notable, but if that’s enough to warrant competitive risk, however, it’s likely to be reduced, according to Lampley.
“The real money is in the fight against Usyk,” he said. “But I think Canelo prefers winning to money.”
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This week’s title fight schedule:
FRIDAY
WBC/WBO Junior Lightweight/Super Featherweight Titles – Newark, New Jersey
Shakur Stevenson (champion/No. 1 IWBR) vs. Robson Conceicao (No. 2 WBC/No. 27 IWBR)
Stevenson (18-0, 9 KOs): Second WBO title defense; He held the WBO title at 126 pounds (2019, zero defenses)
Conceicao (17-1, 8 KOs): Second title fight (0-1); Lost the fight for the WBC title at 130 pounds (UD 12) in 2021
Says Fitzbitz: Conceicao has a lot of street cred and an Olympic gold medal, but he’s climbing too high up the ladder to meet Stevenson, who is a genuine elite. Stevenson by decision (99/1)
Last week picks: 2-0 (WINNER: Alvarez, Rodriguez)
2022 pick record: 28-12 (70.0 percent)
Overall pick record: 1,237-404 (75.4 percent)
NOTE: Advance fights are only those that involve the full holder of a sanctioning body: non-interim, diamond, silver, etc. Fights for the WBA “world championships” are only included if there is no “super champion” in the weight class.
Lyle Fitzsimmons has covered professional boxing since 1995 and has written a weekly column for Boxing Scene since 2008. He is a voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter: @fitzbitz.
