After an impressive victory against David Morrell, David Benavidez now has the chance to rule the light heavyweight division. Yet, he can’t get rid of the ghost of the Canelo Alvarez showdown. The Bandera Roja has been chasing a fight against his Mexican rival for years and even had the mandatory status for over a year. However, the fight never came and the 6’2” giant finally moved up to 175 lbs, where he has done pretty well for himself.

After defeating Morrell, Benavidez has earned himself a shot at the undisputed light heavyweight title, either against Dmitry Bivol or Artur Beterbiev. Getting him one step closer to a position where he will be a worthy contender for Canelo Alvarez. However, a Mexican fighter and former opponent of Canelo Alvarez thinks otherwise.

A match too risky?

On Friday, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., son of legendary Mexican fighter Julio Cesar Chavez, sat down with Fight Hub TV for an interview. During the conversation, the 38-year-old said, “I’d like to see Canelo fight everyone,” and even termed the fight against Jake Paul as acceptable because, “like it or not, it’s generating buzz.”

However, Chavez Jr wants the Guadalajara native to take on David Benavidez after the fight against Terence Crawford in September. For him, the all-Mexican brawl with the titles on the line will be the ultimate bout. Regardless, Chavez Jr knows that it is just a pipe dream at the moment. “I don’t think he’ll fight Benavidez because he is too big and young,” stated Chavez Jr. focusing on the huge size disparity between the two.

David Benavidez is indeed far bigger than the other guys at 168 lbs. Standing in at 6’2 feet, the Bandera Roja naturally weighs more than 180-190 lbs, something which Canelo has also mentioned previously. Last year in March, ahead of his fight against Jaime Munguia, Canelo dismissed the fight against Benavidez claiming that, “he brings nothing to the table for me. He just brings 25 extra pounds on the night of the fight.”

According to Chavez Jr, “It’d be too risky,” for the career veteran, and “I don’t think he’ll do it.” With 62 wins under his belt from 66 fights, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. has gotten a grasp of what his former opponent wants to do with the time that he has left. He knows his statement might be, “off-putting for” for fans who hope to the the Canelo-Benavidez clash one day. Since Benavidez has just come out of a possible fight-of-the-year contender against David Morrell, “we want to see fights like the one on Saturday. That Morrell fight was really good. It’s been a while since I have seen fights like that,” contended the 38-year-old.

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. faced Canelo Alvarez back in 2017 to a unanimous decision loss. So, he has a decent idea of the unified super middleweight champion’s skills and what he would like to avoid.

Canelo Alvarez’s Nine-Figure Deal: Still Not Enough?

Right before his unanimous decision victory over David Morrell, Benavidez shared a few details regarding his team’s offer to Canelo. Earlier, it was reported that Alvarez demanded a $200 million payday, which later came down to $150 million for the fight. The recent revelation by the Mexican Monster indicates that his team offered the 34-year-old a comparable amount.

While appearing on Andre Ward’s All The Smoke podcast, Benavidez claimed, “I knew one day people were going to ask for that fight, and I feel like now it’s amazing how much attention this fight is getting. I think I’m even winning more right now. The more he’s putting it off because people are seeing, like, what if he was not? They offered him 70 million to fight me—that’s before pay-per-view.”

Considering Alvarez was getting $70 million before the PPV, all the sponsorship deals would have made it a 9-figure deal. Despite this, the Mexican star deemed the sum unworthy of his time and refused to entertain it. This begs the question, is Chavez Jr. right? Is Canelo ducking Benavidez because of the size, as a loss can destroy his legacy at the twilight of his career? What do you think? Let us know your thoughts down below.