Is it justified for the unified super-middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez to demand astronomical sums of money, that too, for mandatory fights? You might be wondering how much—a whopping $200 million for a fight against the Interim WBC super-middleweight champion David Benavidez, and $150 million for a fight with two-division undisputed champion Terence Crawford. Apart from the fighters, Alvarez has even managed to get on the wrong side of the most sought-after matchmaker in the boxing world, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh. The Saudi Arabian royal is reportedly frustrated with Alvarez’s recent tactics of pricing himself out of fights, effectively closing the door on any future business with him.

Sharing a similar sentiment, Canelo’s opponent Edgar Berlanga also feels that the Mexican champion is coming up with excuses to wriggle himself out of fighting tough competitors who might potentially add a rare loss to his boxing record. In an interview with Fight Hub TV, Berlanga tore down Canelo’s reasoning for not fighting Benavidez.

Smart move or a “Super pu***” move by Canelo Alvarez?

Is the 34-year-old making himself look weak by denying Benavidez a title shot? After all, Benavidez has been a mandatory challenger for his WBC belt for several years. But, Canelo has a bone of contention with the current interim world light-heavyweight champion. Supposedly, Benavidez has a habit of gaining back close to 25 lbs after his weigh-ins. “He [Benavidez] brings nothing to the table for me. He just brings 25 extra pounds on the night of the fight,” Alvarez had told the media ahead of his fight against Jaime Munguia. For this reason, Berlanga tore into the Mexican champ while in a conversation with Marcos Villegas.

Picking apart “scared” Canelo’s aforementioned reasoning, Berlanga argued to Marcos Villegas, “He is the same weight as you are… 168. What does it matter he jumps up 15-20 pounds, you jump up the same weight,” pointing out that Canelo has the same leeway as Benavidez if he wishes to gain weight before the fight.

Further laying it on Canelo, he said that the Mexican fighter made himself look like the “biggest pu**y in boxing” for trying to put an astronomical price tag of $200 million for fighting the ‘Mexican Monster’. Rubbing it in Canelo’s face, Berlanga concluded his Canelo expose’ by calling him “super pu**y” as he indicated that Canelo’s concern about Benavidez gaining “20 pounds” on fight night doesn’t classify as an excuse.

Edgar Berlanga went a step further by suggesting that the people’s dissatisfaction with him fighting Canelo Alvarez stems from the fact that David Benavidez, despite being the mandatory challenger for years, has yet to receive his shot at the super middleweight title. In contrast, Berlanga has only been a mandatory challenger for the past four months.

Meanwhile, Canelo’s refusal to fight a top pound-for-pound fighter has also irked Turki Alalshikh.

Get in line, or fall by the wayside!

When HE Turki Alalshikh approached Canelo Alvarez with an offer to fight Terence Crawford in February, Canelo Alvarez played hardball. “He needs to do it my way, not his way,” Alvarez said during the press meet for his Edgar Berlanga fight on September 14. “I don’t like the way he talk and I’m in this position if he wants to work with me it is in my way.”

Displeased with Canelo’s power move, HE stated that he is moving on from Alvarez and focusing on “bigger fights, especially for the legend Crawford.” “Just wrapped up an important meeting now with my team, planning for the upcoming fights that we will make for 2024-2025. I decided to disregard the Canelo fight, as I don’t want it anymore,” Alalshikh wrote on X. Additionally, he hit back at Canelo Alvarez, stating that Canelo is only looking for “easy fights” which doesn’t fit into his grand plans of making “big fights at fair prices.”

Safe to say, the figurehead of the Riyadh season won’t put the iconic Mexican fighter on his fight card unless he fights worthy competitors at a fair price. That being said, will Canelo ultimately fight David Benavidez or Terence Crawford? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below,