Will former undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez ever fight interim WBC super middleweight champion and his mandatory opponent David Benavidez? Former CEO of Mayweather Promotion Leonard Ellerbe has shared his thoughts on the potential fight as he spoke about Canelo’s upcoming skirmish.

‘Cinnomen’ is about to get in the ring against his WBA mandatory Edgar Berlanga on September 14th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. While the event is expected to do good numbers, the fight that people really want has been pushed down on Canelo’s priority list with demands of $200 million. However, Ellerbe feels that the fight is inevitable. 

Leonard Ellerbe says Canelo Alvarez vs. David Benavidez next year

Speaking to the 58-year-old in an interview, Marcos Villegas from Fight Hub TV asked for Ellerbe’s expertise in the business to predict when the fight may go down. So, in response, Ellerbe, who has been on Floyd Mayweather’s side for the better part of his career, seemed optimistic, claiming the fight would happen sooner or later because of the demand for it.

“I just think that you know, it’s a fight that the entire sport wants to see, you know. Two of the guys at the top of their game and the fans want to see that fight, and I think they will get it at some point next year. That’s just my opinion,” Ellerbe said. And guess what? It’s worth noting that Canelo hasn’t said no to the bout, right?

Instead, he’s asking for a ton of money to make the fight happen, basically saying he’s earned the right to make those demands with everything he’s done in his career. Meanwhile, later in the interview, Ellerbe went as far as to defend Canelo’s demand for $200 million, stating, “There’s never enough money when you’re getting up there and putting your life on the line. I support his decision to do it whenever he’s ready to do it.”

But not everyone thinks Canelo’s just in it for the cash—some people actually believe he’s just scared.

Oscar De La Hoya brands Canelo a duck

So, get this. Oscar De La Hoya‘s been taking shots at Canelo Alvarez for asking for $200 million to fight David Benavidez, saying it’s just Canelo’s way of dodging the fight. De La Hoya, who used to promote Canelo with Golden Boy, vented about it in an interview with Sean Zittel. He said, “Canelo not wanting to fight Benavidez and outpricing himself—even Turki knows that Canelo is afraid of Benavidez.”

He also threw in, “200 million dollars? You’re crazy. You are crazy. In other words, you don’t want to fight him.” It doesn’t end there. The one and only De La Hoya made it clear that he thinks Canelo’s asking price is way too high and bad for the sport. And that’s not all, folks. He stressed that a fight between Canelo and Benavidez would be huge for boxing, saying, “Boxing is on the rise… and if Canelo fights Benavidez, guess what, that’s the Super Bowl of boxing.”

Alright, will this fight happen? It’s unlikely that Canelo Alvarez would let this mega money-making opportunity just pass him by. However, whether he gets paid $200 million for it is yet to be seen. At least, Leonard Ellerbe feels Canelo deserves every dollar. What do you think? Does he deserve that kind of dough?