Like most passionate boxing fans and elite contenders around the globe, David Benavidez was a keen and analytical observer this past weekend when Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez made his anticipated return to the ring.
Canelo returned to action over a year after his high-profile defeat to Terence Crawford, stepping back under the bright lights with an immediate opportunity to win back one of the prestigious world title belts he had lost in that previous encounter. The championship landscape at super-middleweight had shifted in the interim period. Christian Mbilli had been upgraded from interim titleholder to full WBC champion following Crawford’s retirement from the division, and the newly crowned titleholder eagerly took the lucrative and daunting route of facing Alvarez for his first official defense.
The resulting bout played out under the global spotlight, showcasing the enduring elite skill set of the Mexican icon. Canelo displayed his typically sharp, calculated counterpunching and exceptional defensive footwork to nullify whatever aggressive pressure Mbilli attempted to bring to the table. As the rounds progressed, Alvarez systematically built a steady and insurmountable lead in the second half of the fight, ultimately securing a clear and decisive unanimous decision victory from the ringside judges.
However, not everyone watching was completely enthralled by the tactical, measured nature of the champion’s performance. Speaking candidly in an interview with Fight Hub TV, fellow elite fighter David Benavidez suggested that paying fans may not have entirely gotten their money’s worth on this occasion, and he laid the responsibility for that dynamic squarely at the feet of Alvarez.
“I’m going to critique Canelo. I know everybody’s gonna be extremely mad. See, so he earns all this money. He’s the greatest fighter in the world, right? We expect him to go in there and knock this guy out. We don’t expect him to go in there and just look for counter shots,” Benavidez stated during his conversation with Fight Hub TV.
Elaborating further on his tactical assessment, Benavidez pointed to past performances where Alvarez had demonstrated a much more proactive and suffocating style of pressure fighting, contrasting those memorable nights with his latest showing against Mbilli.
“If the other guy is not throwing any shots, well then be Canelo. Go in there, put pressure on, use your defence, use your head movement, go in there and take it just like how he did it with Caleb Plant. You know what I mean? He was in there looking for it until he knocked him out,” Benavidez explained, referencing the relentless determination Canelo showed when he stopped Plant to unify the super-middleweight division.
Despite his critique regarding a lack of overall urgency to secure a definitive stoppage and a noticeably reduced punch output compared to the peak years of his career, Benavidez remained heavily complimentary of Canelo’s foundational work and overall caliber inside the squared circle. In fact, the undefeated powerhouse went as far as asserting that, even with these stylistic shifts, there is still no active fighter operating within the super-middleweight ranks today who possesses the tools required to defeat him.
“What I have noticed about him, he doesn’t throw much shots no more… I did see that he had some good moments in there. I mean, at the end of the day, I’m not being a hater. I’m just saying what I see. I think so [he still beats everyone at 168],” Benavidez affirmed, expressing his honest professional view on the current hierarchy of the division.
“He looked good. He looked really good. He just looked like he didn’t empty the whole gas tank out. I think Canelo needs somebody that really motivates him to get charged up to go out there and look for the knockout, just like he did with Plant.”
With these candid remarks, Benavidez has highlighted a compelling psychological question that Canelo’s promotional team and cornermen will likely be addressing behind closed doors soon enough—namely, who and what will successfully provide the veteran superstar with the ultimate motivation he needs in his next championship campaign.
