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Benavidez Gives Crawford 70% Chance of Beating Canelo, Envisions Own Fight With Alvarez
NEWS
Manouk Akopyan
Manouk Akopyan
RingMagazine.com
Benavidez Gives Crawford 70% Chance of Beating Canelo, Envisions Own Fight With Alvarez
If everything goes as planned, this September the world will see a blockbuster bout between super middleweight king Canelo Alvarez and fellow four division champion Terence Crawford. Their fight is slated to headline a Riyadh Season show in September, with the target venue being Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

On the way to that showdown, Canelo will first have to overcome an undefeated champion in William Scull. Their Riyadh Season clash was finalized on Saturday, with a date of May 3 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. If Canelo is successful, the fight with Crawford will have the undisputed super middleweight crown at stake.

David Benavidez, fresh off a unanimous decision win against David Morrell, will certainly be an interested observer in the fight. Crawford holds a knockout win over Benavidez's older brother, Jose Benavidez.

Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) has pounded the table over the last few years calling for a fight against Alvarez to no avail. With an Alvarez fight nowhere in sight, Benavidez has moved on to 175 pounds and is making his mark there instead.

“It’s a good fight for both of them. If anybody can beat Canelo, I think Crawford could,” Benavidez said on The Ariel Helwani Show. “The size plays a massive difference. I have no bad feelings for that fight. It’s a good fight … I don’t want to seem like a hater. I’m blessed and I have my position right here [at 175 pounds]. I’m in a big position as well. I’m just happy for Crawford that he’s able to get a big fight like that too.

“I’d give him a seven out of 10 chance [to beat Alvarez]. Crawford is a really good fighter. I’m sure he’s been working on the weight. Crawford has a big IQ, and if you do enough weights, and stay working for a long time, you have a puncher’s chance to make the other guy uncomfortable and to hurt him a couple of times. I wouldn’t be surprised if Crawford wins.”

Although Benavidez recently stated that his days at 168 pounds are done, he still believes a bout against Alvarez – a former 175-pound champion – could be a reality once Alvarez moves on from the super middleweight division.

“I think it’ll happen. For the past two years, I thought it was going to happen, but I guess it’s not time yet,” said Benavidez. “I just have to keep doing what I’m doing. I think I’ve shown I’m a big enough name. Morrell wasn’t really that known, but we still sold 20,000 people at the T-Mobile Arena. I’m sure the pay per views were pretty good. I think I’m making my case and I still have a lot of room to grow. I don’t know when Canelo is going to retire, but maybe in a couple of years, this fight will maybe be bigger than it was when people were first talking about it. I’ll have more titles, and Canelo will probably have more titles, and it’ll make for a bigger fight, kind of like Mayweather-Pacquiao.”

Manouk Akopyan is a lead writer for Ring Magazine. He can be reached on X and Instagram @ManoukAkopyan.

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