Shane Mosley believes that David Benavidez will have too much size and activity for Canelo Álvarez and will win that matchup.
Benavidez, interim WBC super middleweight champion, is one of the possible opponents for Canelo to fight in 2024 in the two fights remaining on his contract with PBC.
The Premier Boxing champions are likely to insist that Canelo face Benavidez. If Canelo can insist on a rehydration clause to prevent Benavidez from rehydrating to 190 degrees, he has a chance of winning. But without a rehydration clause, Canelo will have a tough time against a massive 190+ pound Benavidez, who will resemble Jai Opetaia in size.
Ideally, Canelo, 33, would face Jermall Charlo next May and then Benavidez in September, as they would be internal fights for PBC without needing to work with outside promotional companies like Top Rank, Golden Boy or Matchroom.
Size and activity: the key factors
Mosley feels that undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo (60-2-2, 39 KOs) won’t be able to stay back, fighting on the ropes like he normally does, because Benavidez will bury him with activity if he fights like that.
Shane is not ruling out a possible knockout victory for Canelo if the 26-year-old Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs) acts recklessly as he often does against his smaller opponent. Benavidez does not focus too much.
Benavidez is so big for the 168-pound division, which makes it difficult for anyone who is a true super middleweight to beat him because he is basically a cruiserweight.
Canelo’s punching power and experience
“It is a beast. Not just when he’s fighting but all the time. He has that mentality and I love seeing fighters like that,” Shane Mosley told Fighthype about David Benavidez. “It was a little difficult for Boo Boo [Andrade] to do that because it is not his style.”
Demetrius Andrade looked undersized and outgunned against a massive Benavidez last November. From the first round you could tell that Andrade didn’t have the size or weaponry to win, as it looked like he was fighting a guy two weight classes bigger than him and he wasn’t going to win unless he could move non-stop.
At 35 years old, Andrade’s legs are no longer what they were, so he was forced to stand and fight until the bitter end, which didn’t take long, fortunately for him. If this had been a fight that had lasted the final rounds, Andrade would have taken a terrible beating.
“He’s not as big as David, but he still fought and gave his all. Canelo is also going to be a good fight [against Benavidez] because Canelo won’t be able to sit back and simply fight back. He’s going to have to fight all the time,” Mosley said.
“It’s going to be a great fight. I’m not saying he’s going to go through it like he did Boo Boo, but I am saying it’s going to be a great fight. I know Canelo can crack and Canelo has good counterpunches. I’ve been in the ring with him.
‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez is another example of a fighter who competes well below his normal weight and size, and is able to do so thanks to his youth.
Benavidez will likely fight at cruiserweight in three to five years, not because he wants to, but because he can no longer drop down to 168 to compete against smaller opponents. It will be interesting to see how Benavidez fares against fighters his own size, like Opetaia rather than the smaller fighters he has been crushing with his massive frame.
“Canelo is very fast; He has good power and good IQ in the ring. “It’s going to be a great fight,” Mosley said. “I still think that David [Benavidez] It may be a little big for you. He is too tall and his arms are too long. That could be a problem. It seemed like it was a problem when Canelo fought Bivol.”
It cannot be ruled out that Canelo hits Benavidez with one of his powerful counterattacks that he doesn’t see coming, provoking him like he did with Amir Khan.
There was a reason why Gennadiy Golovkin didn’t fight Canelo as aggressively as he had in his other fights: he couldn’t. It was too risky for him to go all out against Canelo without running into a shot he didn’t see coming.
“It was the same thing. The arms are so long, so tall and so slender,” Mosley said. “I couldn’t get his counters off. David is a little taller and longer than Bivol. So it’s going to be a big problem for “Canelo with that type of fight.”
Benavidez is even bigger than WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, punches harder and throws a lot more punches. If Canelo fights him, he will have to stay in the center of the ring and focus on attacking him with counters because he will throw a lot of shots, looking to build up a wide and judge-proof lead so that he doesn’t end up in the same boat as Golovkin and Erislandy Lara.
Mosley’s prediction
“I still feel like it will be a good fight, and whoever wins because I think David [Benavidez] I’ll probably win,” Mosley said. “Then the two of them will fight, David and Bivol, and then the other light heavyweight, Beterbiev. “I think David has the advantage, but I don’t rule out Canelo.”
Picking Benavidez over Canelo is easy because he is a much bigger, younger and busier fighter by nature. The 5’8″ Canelo started his career at 147 and is small for the 168-pound division.
He’s not someone who’s going to rehydrate a lot of weight like Benavidez, so he’ll be up against that if this fight happens.
It’s going to be harder for Benavidez to defeat Artur Beterbiev or Bivol because those guys are closer to his weight. They’re still smaller than him, but they’re not as dramatic as the super middleweights he’s been crushing with his size.
Beterbiev will soon turn 39, and is unlikely to be around anymore if Benavidez stays at 168 for another three or four years.
“I know Canelo could do something. He has the power to knock David out,” Mosley said. “If David is a little reckless and Canelo hits him with one of his left hooks or right hooks or something like that. Anything can happen. It’s a great fight.
“I give the advantage to David because he’s much taller, more agile and will never let you fight your fight,” Mosley said.
