Oscar De La Hoya is convinced that Canelo Alvarez is “afraid” to fight David Benavidez and he is not happy about it.
(Credit: Golden Boy/ Cris Esqueda)
In an interview today, Golden Boy’s promoter, De La Hoya, complained that Canelo took himself out of the fight against Benavidez by asking for $200 million, which he sees as a sign that he doesn’t want that matchup.
Benavidez moves to 175
De La Hoya believes that it will help this match if Canelo fights Benavidez because it will attract more people. However, it is too late for that fight because Benavidez is campaigning at 175 now. Benavidez has shown that he is not on the level of the top guys at that weight.
If Canelo is going to fight at light heavyweight, he may also aim for the best in that weight class against the winner of the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol.
“No, we have not discussed anything with Turki, but Turki wants to do the best fights, and that is a breath of fresh air. That’s music to my ears,” said Oscar De La Hoya on Fight Hub TV.
“Now, you have fighters who call themselves numbers and actually don’t want to fight each other. That, to me as a promoter, is the worst thing I can hear from a fighter. ‘I sacrifice myself.’ Like Canelo vs. Benavidez. Why not give us Canelo vs. Benavidez? Why? Canelo, why?”
Canelo says he wants a certain amount before he fights Benavidez, and that didn’t happen. His thing is he doesn’t feel that Benavidez brings much to the table without losing 25 lbs to cruiserweight on fight night.
If Canelo is going to fight at cruiserweight, he wants to be paid more money. That makes sense. Benavidez would expect to be paid more if he fights a heavyweight like Anthony Joshua.
Canelo’s “arrogance”.
“He wants $200 million. Come on, man. Stop being arrogant,” said De La Hoya. “So, basically, Canelo doesn’t want to give us good fights. If you have Turki, who does the best battles. Who really wants to do the best fights, and foot the bill? Be my guest. Please, do more. Boxing is very good.”
Turki hasn’t forced the Canelo vs. Benavidez. He wants Canelo to fight Terence Crawford, which is unlikely because Turki chose not to pursue the bout after the Nebraska native’s poor performance against WBA 154-lb champion Israel Madrimov last Saturday.
“In fact, he was saving boxing. This is what I have been talking about for a long time,” said De La Hoya about Turki. “He is a savior in sports. He has deep pockets, obviously, and wants to make the best fights happen. Imagine all the best battles happening. Imagine if Canelo and Benavidez were done. That’s the Super Bowl of boxing. Boxing is growing. Canelo, don’t drive us crazy.”
Also, Turki does not want to finance the fight between Canelo and Benavidez. He just wants Crawford’s fight, which is hard to understand because he’s not famous. If Canelo-Benavidez is going to happen, it will have to be someone with deep pockets willing to meet Canelo’s price.
“In other words, ‘I don’t want to fight,'” De La Hoya said of Canelo telling Turki Alalshikh that he didn’t like the way he was talking to him, and that if they were going to make a deal, it would be. it will be his way.”
It’s no longer a big deal that Canelo won’t fight Benavidez because the two fight in different weight classes now. Benavidez is in a different galaxy than Canelo, and too far away for that match to be made.
“I thought I wouldn’t say this, but Canelo is afraid. We have been begging Canelo, ‘Please, we want this fight.’ I want it as a fan,” said De La Hoya. “I want this fight because it is a big fight in boxing, the sport we love. Turki gives us the best fights, and Canelo doesn’t give us the best fights.”
It’s late in Canelo’s career, he wants a certain amount of money to agree to fight Benavidez. That doesn’t happen, so it’s a waste of time to keep talking about it.
“I don’t want to [understand] because I fought with everyone,” said De La Hoya.
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