In the ever-thrilling world of boxing, Canelo Alvarez has managed to become someone to be reckoned with. However, there are certainly a lot of fighters vying for his throne. One such ambitious person is David Benavidez a young hot blooded fighter with the hunger to reach the top. He has been relentlessly hounding Alvarez for a while now, trying to earn a shot at the undisputed title. He has called out the world champion multiple times. However, the fight is still nowhere near to be made.
In the meanwhile, Alvarez is now preparing to face Jermell Charlo who is two weight below the Mexican icon, undoubtably pouring salt in Benavidez’s wounds. However, it appears that Benavidez will have to keep waiting for his shot. WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman has poured cold water over his future plans with his new statement.
WBC surprises David Benavidez with its announcement
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Mauricio Sulaiman, the World Boxing Council (WBC) president, recently made an important announcement regarding the undisputed 168-pound champion, Canelo Alvarez. It was revealed that Alvarez would not be obliged to defend his title against mandatory challenger David Benavidez in May 2024. Sulaiman justified this decision by pointing out Benavidez’s recent victory over Caleb Plant in March. This allows Canelo to enjoy a ten-month break before facing his mandatory opponent.
‼️ The WBC will not officially order Canelo Alvarez to defend his undisputed super-middleweight world titles vs David Benavidez until March 2024 – one year after he won the WBC 'interim' belt and mandatory position – WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman has said. [@_BroadwayJoel]
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) July 17, 2023
“Benavidez defeated Plant in March of this year, so the date for his mandatory position is March 2024,” Sulaiman stated. David Benavidez has held the WBC mandatory and interim titles in the super Middleweight division since his knockout win against David Lemieux in May 2021. Sulaiman acknowledged that Canelo could choose to defend against Benavidez at any time to fulfill his mandatory obligation. However, despite the usual expectation for WBC champions to defend their titles annually, Canelo will have had a two-year break from facing Benavidez, if he decides to fight him at all.
Canelo Alvarez’s current endeavor
Canelo Alvarez is currently preparing to face off against Jermell Charlo on September 30. Alvarez’s first pick was Dimitry Bivol, however, the Light Heavyweight wanted to come down in weight for the fight. Hence, Alvarez shifted his focus to other endeavors.
Canelo Alvarez starting training camp today for the Jermell Charlo fight on Sept 30th…
[🎥 @Canelo] pic.twitter.com/s2ZEPpwg13— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) July 17, 2023
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However, fans are worried that Alvarez is not taking ‘Iron Man’ seriously enough. Alvarez just started his 10-week training camp for the bout. It is also reported that he plans to fight, Jermall Charlo next and then possibly look for an Errol Spence Jr. bout. Thus it is highly unlikely that ‘The Mexican Monster’ will see his dream come true. This is much more obvious if we take into account, how Canelo disregarded his $50 million contract.
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Meanwhile do share what you think about the possibility of this bout. Do you think that the fight will take place next year? What do you think about Alvarez-Charlo bout? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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