Benavidez wants Canelo to fight Bivol next, not Golovkin

By Boxing News - 05/20/2022 - Comments

By Jim Calfa: David Benavidez says he prefers to see Canelo Alvarez attempt to avenge his loss to Dmitry Bivol in his next fight rather than taking on Gennadiy Golovkin in their trilogy match in September.

As far as Benavidez is concerned, it matters more for the superstar Canelo (57-2-2, 39 KOs) to get revenge for his defeat against WBA light heavyweight champion Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs) than it is for him to face Golovkin.

If Canelo beats Bivol, he should his greatness to the boxing world and set the wheels in motion for a rubber match between them.

There’s a lot more for Canelo to gain legacy-wise than for him to face 40-year-old Golovkin, who looks a little past after his recent performance against Ryota Murata on April 9th.

Bivol, 31, showed excellent mobility, powerful jab, and great defense to shut down Canelo’s offense in their fight on May 7th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Canelo was reduced to targeting Bivol’s left arm, trying fruitlessly to take it out of commission with swelling. With that being Canelo’s main strategy, he was never going to defeat Bivol.

The skills and game plan that Canelo employed for the fight were rudimentary, making one wonder if he’s forgotten everything he’d learned during his long 17-year professional career.

If Canelo looks just as bad in the rematch against Bivol, he needs to consider dumping his trainer Eddy Reynoso and get a better coach who can teach him the basics. Canelo needs skills and game plans that make sense.

“I would definitely want to see both fights, but the fight that matters more right now is Bivol vs. Canelo,” said David Benavidez to Fight Hub TV when asked if he’d like to see Canelo Alvarez fight Gennadiy Golovkin or Dmitry Bivol next.

“If Bivol beats Canelo again, then Bivol is the man, no question asked. But if Canelo comes back and beats Bivol, there could be a third fight. There are a lot of good fights for him [Canelo] right now. I wouldn’t mind seeing either of them [Canelo-Bivol or Canelo-Golovkin III].

“Like you said, a lot of people were saying that Golovkin was washed up, but then he goes and stops a guy [Ryota Murata] when he was having trouble against in the early rounds.

“Then Canelo goes, and he’s having trouble in the beginning rounds, and he can’t adapt, so he loses. I think both fights [Bivol or Golovkin] would be good fights to watch, and I’d definitely watch both of them.

“Yeah, but if you think about it. I don’t think Bivol would put that in jeopardy, especially when he has a rematch already lined up. If I got the opportunity to fight Bivol, I would go up instantly. To be honest, who is he going to make more money fighting?

“He already took a pay cut to fight Canelo. I don’t think he’d be willing to take another pay cut. He deserves it, but if I got a chance, I would definitely fight Bivol. I’d fight him tomorrow.

“Now, he has to be a businessman. I don’t think he’s going to take another pay cut when he just took one and beat the guy [Canelo] that everyone wants to fight. He definitely deserves a rematch and to be paid more for the rematch,” said Benavidez about Bivol.

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