By Dan Ambrose: Trainer Robert Garcia says he doubts Canelo Alvarez will choose to fight David Benavidez because he doesn’t want to fight “another Mexican.”
Robert acknowledges that Canelo vs. Benavidez would be a great fight for the boxing public, but he doesn’t see it happening.
Interestingly, Robert doesn’t blame Canelo for not fighting the undefeated Benavidez (26-0, 23 KOs) because he feels there are plenty of options for him in Eastern Europe and the US.
If Canelo chooses to sidestep Benavidez permanently, the fans will put a lot of pressure on him to fight a rematch with WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol and fight Jermall Charlo.
It will look bad on Canelo’s part if he chooses to bypass Bivol and Benavidez and focus on defending his undisputed super middleweight championship against Caleb Plant, John Ryder and a few other lesser fighters.
Canelo will have to relinquish his WBC 168-pound title at some point because Benavidez is his mandate. The World Boxing Council cannot allow Canelo to avoid his mandatory Benavidez for years without it appearing that he is showing favoritism to the superstar.
“I would love to see that fight. Probably not,” Robert Garcia told ESNEWS when asked if we’ll see Canelo Alvarez vs. David Benavidez. “You know, Canelo said that he is not going to fight another Mexican. I do not [blame him].
“Look, there are so many guys from Eastern Europe, all these African-American Mexican guys, there are all these white people from the United States, Asians and whoever.
“Would we like to see it? We would love to see that fight,” Robert said of Canelo vs. Benavidez. “That’s a tough fight for both of them.
“Canelo is very smart in the ring, and he doesn’t go out there and try to please the crowd. He knows what is good for him and does enough to win. So he will do the same against Benavidez.
“Benavidez is the complete opposite. He will come out to try to make a war to please the fans. They’d love that, but Canelo isn’t like that, and I can’t blame him.
“It’s his life there. He wants to enjoy his family. He’s probably seen former world champions who went through wars, and I’m pretty sure he’s seen that.
“A lot of them have speech problems, a lot of them have memory problems, and a lot of them have balance problems. Don’t blame them either,” Garcia said.
