Canelo Alvarez will NEVER accept David Benavidez fight as he’s ‘too young and talented’, says Oscar De La Hoya
CANELO ALVAREZ’s old promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, says the Mexican won’t fight David Benavidez as he’s “too young and talented”.
The four-weight world champion won his trilogy with Gennady Golovkin last month, getting back to winning ways after losing to Dmitry Bivol.
And attention has now turned towards who the 32-year-old could square off against next, with some calling for him to take on unbeaten super middleweight Benavidez.
The American, 25, has won 23 of his 26 wins via knockout and would be a big challenge to any of the top dogs in the division.
But former world champ De La Hoya says he won’t face off against Canelo.
De La Hoya, who used to promote Canelo until their bitter split in 2020, says Benavidez is “too young and talented” for the Mexican.
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Answering a fan’s question on a potential match-up between the two super middleweights, De La Hoya said on instagram: “Canelo will never fight him (Benavidez), he’s too young and talented.”
Someone who might be young, but not as talented as Benavidez and could face Canelo, is YouTube star-turned-boxer Jake Paul.
Paul, 25, has vowed to defeat Canelo if the boxing superstar is “dumb enough” to fight him.
He said: “He looks like he’s on the decline. I said it before guys, Jake Paul versus Canelo, I win. I guarantee you that.
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“You guys thought I was crazy at first but that’s because you guys can’t beat Canelo.
“I guarantee you that if Canelo and I fight one day – if he’s dumb enough to get in the ring with me – I will beat his f***ing ass.”
The Ohio-born Problem Child also backed Benavidez to beat Canelo.
He said following Canelo’s win over Golovkin: “Triple G looked old but also Canelo looked old.
“He started to fade in the later rounds and Triple G took a while to get started.
“If Canelo goes against someone who is younger, faster and boxes him on the outside and can keep that stamina up for rounds 9, 10, 11 and 12 – someone like David Benavidez for example – then it’s going to be a bad night for Canelo.”