American-Mexican coach Jose Benavides Sr. believes that the former leader of the P4P rating Mexican Saul Canelo Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KOs) will soon retire.
“Understand one thing! —
sold out Benavidez. Canelo has been boxing since he was 16. Yes, he is super-disciplined. Yes, he is the best of the best. But let’s remember together. At first he had problems with his knees. And first with one, then with the second. Then there was a broken arm. The fans don’t think that the fighters are giving their best. They leave the most important thing in the ring – their health. How old is Canelo now? I think somewhere around 32 or 33 years old. But look at his mileage. Remember the number of battles he went through. I think it’s already worn out. He tries to convince himself that he has remained the same. But we see that this is not the case.”
On March 25, Father Benavidez will take his son David Benavidez to a fight with Caleb Plant for the interim WBC title. Previously, Plant gave a solid fight to Canelo, but lost ahead of schedule – they fought for the title of absolute world champion.
Coach’s opinion: “I don’t dispute that Caleb boxed well with Canelo. But why? Yes, all because Alvarez is no longer the same as he was before. Perhaps there was also an underestimation. But Caleb did win against Saul. Yes, before the knockout, I think he was better. But remember what happened next. Remember Canelo’s fight with Dmitry Bivol… I think that everything is simple here. Canelo is nearing retirement.”
Benavidez Sr. is sure that Canelo will never give a fight to his son: “David is a Mexican monster. It is clear that he will never go against him in the ring. He knows that the son is young and hungry. He would rather fight with others and not even mention David. We accepted it, we put up with it. I think he will even go so far as to give up titles and not fight his son. But there is a problem. His compatriots will criticize him for this. But enough about Canelo. We have a difficult fight ahead of us with Plant. If David cannot block Caleb’s escape routes, then the fight will be very difficult for him.
Benavidez Sr. coaches sons Jose and David, as well as prospects Diego Pacheco and Jose Valenzuela. His services are also used by MMA fighters – Cris Cyborg, Ryan Bader and CB Dollaway.
Collaborating with Canelo promoter Eddie Hearn claims that the Mexican would even fight Usyk in cruiserweight. He also says that Bivol himself wants to fight Alvarez at 76.2 kg.
