It may yet come to be remembered as one of boxing\u2019s great fights that never happened, but David Benavidez insists there is still a path to a long-discussed showdown with Canelo Alvarez.<\/p>\n
For years, Canelo dismissed the prospect of facing Benavidez during his dominant reign as the world\u2019s leading super-middleweight, even as the hard-hitting American steadily rose through the division\u2019s ranks. Frustrated at being frozen out, Benavidez eventually vacated his position at 168lbs and moved up in weight.<\/p>\n
The shift has so far been richly rewarded. Benavidez has since captured the WBC light-heavyweight title, while Canelo\u2019s own ventures at 175lbs produced mixed results. He claimed the WBO belt with a highlight reel stoppage of Sergey Kovalev in 2019, but was comprehensively outboxed by WBA champion Dmitry Bivol three years later.<\/p>\n
Canelo\u2019s immediate future is now uncertain following a crushing defeat to Terence Crawford in September, a loss that brought his reign as undisputed super-middleweight champion to an abrupt end.<\/p>\n
Benavidez, by contrast, appears to be surging. He was in imperious form in his most recent title defence against Anthony Yarde<\/a> and is now eyeing blockbuster clashes with unified champion Bivol and former undisputed ruler Artur Beterbiev. In the interim, Benavidez is set to test himself at cruiserweight for a single bout in May 2026, when he challenges unified champion Gilberto \u201cZurdo\u201d Ramirez. Yet, as he explained to The Ring<\/a>, the door remains open for a belated super-fight with Canelo.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m in a great position in every single way. I wasn\u2019t gonna go down to 168, but now if Canelo wants to come up, I got the WBC world title at 175.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter I beat Bivol, I\u2019m gonna have all the belts. So after that happens, I\u2019m the one who has the power. Canelo said he fights for greatness, he fights for titles. Well, let me go pick up all the titles and let\u2019s come back to the table and talk.\u201d<\/p>\n